Black Birds
by Araceil
Summary: HP Xover. Slash. Dark Themes. When Harry Potter defeated Voldemort the Wizarding World hailed him as a Messiah, but he couldn't handle the pressure and fled to Japan where he made a new life for himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Black Birds**

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_After the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort's Second Rise really kicks off becoming bloodier, darker and far more vicious than the first. Two years after his rebirth, its brought to a sudden and jarring halt by the Boy Who Lived. _

_Hailed as a Messiah – the Second Coming of Merlin – the emotionally scarred and traumatized Harry Potter can't handle the overzealous adoration from the Wizarding Public and constant swarming of reporters and fans every time he stepped out of his front door and flees Europe all together. Setting himself up in Japan under the protection of the Nihonjin Mahou Sho- (Japanese Ministry of Magic) and given a new life under the alias of Akegata Shikamaru and enrol him at the prestigious Ouran Gakuin._

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I do not own Harry Potter or the Ouran High School Host Club Anime/Manga.

**THIS WILL BE FOLLOWING THE MANGA**

Those of you unfamiliar with said Manga, please look on www (dot) onemanga (dot) com. And check the drop down menu. Each chapter is around 40-50 pages long and as you will see when you get there; there are a fair few chapters. So you won't be getting bored while waiting for updates ;D

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**WARNING**

**There will be ****YAOI****. **

**There will be graphic flashback scenes featuring: ****torture****, ****character death****, ****rape****, ****abuse****.**

**There will be moments of ****OOC****, it can't be helped, Ouran is a Shoujo and Harry's past is dark, **_very_** dark. I will try to keep it as true to canon as possible but Ouran never really touches onto the subjects of the above.**

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_Special thanks to Stalker of Stories for helping me sort my head out with all the plotting 8D_

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**CHAPTER ONE**

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It was driving him to distraction.

The new school term had started a good three weeks ago, the first day back the class had been greeted with the news that they would be welcoming an exchange student into their midst.

For two weeks Suou Tamaki had been in the same class as the new student and not even remembered his name, face, where he sat, nor even paid even the smallest lick of attention to him. After all, he had more _important_ things to worry about, his Host Club for one, their latest Cosplay, and Haruhi-chan's arrival and training. Not to mention the bullying and harassment she suffered at the hands of their Princess Ayanokoji during their second week.

But apparently, Tamaki had been the _only_ one ignoring their newest arrival.

Yamada Mamoru, fourth son of Yamada Saito head of the Yamada Corporation, had been keeping an eye on their newest student, and during that second week into the new school Year the _Incident_ happened.

Tamaki had no idea what happened, he hadn't been paying much attention when the _Incident_ happened, but even when asking his other classmates they hadn't the slightest of what happened either. It was as if the new student just... _snapped_.

From what Higuchi Megumi – incidentally one of Mori-senpai's regular customers – had explained to him, Yamada-san had approached the new student while he was reading in his seat, she wasn't even sure which book he was reading because it was in Latin – something they didn't teach at Ouran – Yamada-san had just leaned over his shoulder, placing a hand on the other teen's back so he didn't over balance and fall, thus crushing him, before asking what he was reading.

Yamada-san hadn't even finished his question before the table and chair were over turned and he was sent crashing into the ground by the _much_ smaller student and had all the wind driven out of him.

Tamaki remembered silence filling the room before the new student had cringed away from all the staring and horrified eyes, the previously invisible student carefully helped Yamada-san to his feet, for some reason touching him as little as possible and cringing every time he did so, before asking Jonouchi Ayame to gather their things and bring them to the Medical Room please and leaving.

Later, Yamada-san would tell them how the new student had tended to him himself, written him a formal letter of apology, taken his possessions and left the school. He didn't show up the next day and rumours were buzzing everywhere, all sorts of wild theories about why he flipped out and attacked Yamada-san were flying around and even in the single day and a half he was absent things were getting way out of hand. It was only when Jonouchi-chan and Kyouya-kun oh so calmly told everyone that it is quite blatantly stated in the class register that he had _Aphephobia_, a fear of being touched or touching others, that everyone eventually calmed down.

And from then on, Akegata Shikamaru had become the most fascinating thing in the world to one Suou Tamaki.

Aside from that small medical note and a comment to watch his eating habits – why Tamaki had no idea but he was beginning to suspect Akegata-san may have been anorexic from the sheer skinniness of his wrists – Akegata Shikamaru was a complete mystery. And it was driving Tamaki up the wall.

How on earth did he end up in Class 2A?

He didn't remember any influential people by the name of Akegata, neither did Kyouya or a somewhat surly Jonouchi-chan when asked. He made no comments about his wealth, in fact, Tamaki was certain that the stationary he used was as cheap and cost efficient as Haruhi-chan's, probably even bought at the same Commoner's Market!

His past was a complete mystery, no one knew _anything_ about him, he kept to himself and associated with no one. Which during his observations over the past week Tamaki originally thought to be due to arrogance before he realised that Akegata-san was actually _frightened_ of associating with others. What on earth could have produced that kind of aversion in a seventeen year old boy?

Tamaki gnawed on his expensive Fountain pen, he knew he was putting dents into it but he wasn't too bothered, he could get another one cheaply enough at 200,000 en.

He had been growing more and more interested in – not to mention frustrated with – the enigma that was Akegata Shikamaru, and frankly, even now his favourite subject, World History, couldn't interest him all that much in comparison. The blonde forced himself to take some notes to appease the teacher but... his attention drifted yet again to the dark haired teenager in front of him to his left as he took notes in a gorgeous Romaji cursive script(1).

Akegata-san had a strange kind of beauty to him, and he was beautiful, quite so and even Tamaki – a devote lover of the fairer sex – couldn't deny that fact, wouldn't deny that fact. As it stood, there always seemed to be something tragic about the new student, a dark kind of doll-like beauty to him that just seemed... broken and lonely. He had to admit that if he ever got the teenager into the Host Club; he would get a _lot_ of designations just on that general feeling alone.

He stood at a surprisingly diminutive 5'3" in height, barely three inches taller than Haruhi-chan, with a slender petite body that was really _far_ too skinny in Tamaki's opinion, an opinion that Kyouya and the rest of the faculty seemed to share. His hair was a deep shade of inky raven black, it looked soft to Tamaki but he didn't dare attempt to investigate as the just below shoulder length dark tresses were kept out of the way via a no-nonsense pony tail at the nape of his neck. His dark hair combined with the almost flawless snow-white colour of his skin made the large startling fresh-cut emerald green shade of his eyes stand out all the more, framed with long black eyelashes half hidden behind the thin wire framed glasses he wore.

All in all, now that Tamaki _had_ noticed Akegata-san, he was alarmed that he had completely blanked him from his consciousness until now.

It was distressing really.

The poor boy was obviously alone and friendless but too shy to actually approach someone and attempt to socialise, along with aphephobia he had another handicap to any future social interactions! He needed help.

Tamaki blinked and chomped on his pen, perhaps a little harder than he should have because a split second later the taste of ink flooded his mouth and he gagged.

How could he have been so blind!?

It was practically his _duty_ to help Akegata-san make friends, not only as the President of the Host Club, or as the Class President, or the son of the Superintendent, but as a fellow student and a good man!

_No one_ should be without friends and Tamaki was going to make it his mission that Akegata Shikamaru would have the best friends in Ouran Gakuin by the end of the _week!_

Sitting on the right hand side of the blonde Frenchman, Ootori Kyouya could only sigh in long-suffering tolerance as he caught the unique glint in his 'bestfriend's eye – even if he was gagging on blue fountain pen ink. It looked as though he had finally finished _observing_ and had now decided to throw himself in face first into the life of Akegata-san.

Kyouya wondered how long it would be before Tamaki found himself running into a brick wall face first sometimes.

He also wondered if he would stand back and laugh at the blonde, or take pictures to sell on the internet.

He was leaning more towards the latter.

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Harry James Potter twitched slightly, forcing himself not to fidget in his seat.

The weird French guy was _staring_ at him again.

The dark haired teenager forced himself not to panic and continue taking notes, not to rub at the back of his neck or his scar – the one on his forehead at least – or to turn around and snarl something unpleasant at the other teenager. Knowing these rich types, if he told them to take a picture since it would last longer they probably would.

Inwardly, he was counting down the _seconds_ until he could escape.

Life... had not been pleasant to him since the resurrection of Voldemort. Which was one of the reasons he was currently under the protective custody of the Japanese Ministry of Magic (_Nihonjin Mahou sho-_) and going under the alias of Akegata Shikamaru. Which he was told meant Dawn and Deer. An odd combination of names but... when he stopped to think about them they were kind of significant to his circumstances, his old life had ended and his time in Japan was a new chapter in his life, the beginning, or the _dawning_ of the rest of his life. And Shikamaru he guessed was after his Patronus, a Charm which none of the Japanese knew of and he was only too happy to show and teach to their version of Aurors – who looked startlingly like the Ninjas in Dudley's stupid Martial Arts films. They didn't have much of an issue with Dementors but Lethifolds _were_ a problem, thankfully the majority of the Japanese Muggles put the mysterious disappearances down to the Yakuza or other undesirable sorts. Which he guessed was better than telling their families that the victim in question was actually _eaten_ by a living shroud of darkness.

After the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort had not wasted any time in picking up right where he left off.

Azkaban was cracked open like an overripe watermelon, and the war escalated into something far bloodier, more violent and more vicious than anything the British Ministry had ever experienced. At least until Voldemort took it over and situated himself as Minister for Magic over the majority of Magical Europe – what parts of it Harry and the Order didn't manage to incite into rebellions/riots.

Harry had ended up returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year, but he also managed to worm his way into almost every Order meeting, he set up a special Defence Club asking Professor Flitwick and Alastor Moody along with whatever Order members to help them out, teach them new spells, help them improve their aim, battle tactics and casting speed. At some point during that fifth year Harry ended up becoming a High Roller in the Order, even going so far as liaising with the Muggle Government for support, cover-ups and even some general supplies – Luna gained a new best friend in the form of grenades and nitro-glycerine that year and Ginny discovered a love of flamethrowers. Harry wasn't even going into what the twins did with their new goodies.

At the end of his fifth-year, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Neville and a few other members of Defence Association officially left Hogwarts and joined up with the Order, ignoring all protests from the more senior members – Molly in particular. The fact that everyone had still been really been heaping the pressure onto Harry and hurry up and pull off another miracle to destroy the Dark Lord, something that was easier said than done considering the Horcrux shards he had created, only further irritated those who followed him from the DA.

Thank God for small mercies that Harry had _not _been a Horcrux, the moment it was mentioned he had been terrified that he possessed the last festering cancer that kept Tom Riddle alive – he wasn't, in fact, the Parselmouth gift Harry possessed wasn't Parselmouth at all. It was simply a gift for languages; his mother had a gift for Charms, his father for Transfiguration and Snape a gift for Potions and true Harry also possessed a _frightening_ aptitude for combat and Defence that was something that had been cultivated, unlike his gift for languages which had been largely ignored. It was a natural talent that came as easily as breathing and walking, Harry had just been unlucky enough to be surrounded by snakes as he was doing the gardening as a child – the whispering he had thought was the neighbours was in fact a nest of Grass Adders under the shed. (Though the more research he did into it, the more it looked like his Gift for Languages was a little more than just a natural talent.)

Harry managed to destroy the majority of the Horcruxes with Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and Bill's help before the first year of the war was out. Getting at Nagini and Hufflepuff's Goblet had taken the longest, along with Ravenclaw's Diadam due to the sheer amount of time it took to sift through the magic Junk Room on the Seventh Floor.

Tom Riddle's Diary, his first Horcrux was destroyed during Harry's second year.

Ravenclaw's Diadam, his second Horcrux and ironically the second to last one to exorcised.

Slytherin's Ring, the third Horcrux, Dumbledore destroyed that one but ended up falling prey to the Flesh Eating curse attached to it.

Slytherin's Locket, the fourth Horcrux, found by Sirius in the Black Family mansion while cleaning his younger brother's room along with a note apologising to his older brother. Sirius had cried a lot that day. He destroyed it himself for his younger brother's sake.

Hufflepuff's Goblet, the fifth Horcrux, removed from the Lestrange Vault through some very clever legislation brought up by one Andromeda Tonks who studied to be a lawyer in both Magical and Muggle worlds. Ironically enough, it was this legislation that got Sirius his trial and freedom without him even having to be present to testify. He was awarded 12,000,000 galleons in compensation for the 12-years mental anguish and torture of Azkaban and custody of his only Godson Harry Potter. They all had a huge party and Ron got quite drunk before snogging Hermione full on the mouth and declaring his love for her. From that point on they were a couple. Remus and Tonks also ironically got together at that very same celebration.

Slytherin's _Basilisk_, the sixth Horcrux and probably the most surprising. Tom Riddle actually had the stones to go and turn the 1000-year-old Basilisk into a Horcrux, which in retrospect was probably his most intelligent choice of Horcrux to be honest. Who would be able to kill a Basilisk that old? Well... Harry didn't count, he had dumb-luck and a prophesy covering his ass.

And lastly, Nagini... his last Horcrux aside from himself.

Neville beheaded that snake himself three months before the end of the war and a good two months after Harry returned from his two month-long stint as an honoured guest of the Death Eaters.

It... had not been pleasant.

He still wore the scars.

The final battle had been long, vicious and taken place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the place where it all began. Where Tom Riddle descended into darkness, where Harry Potter was moulded into a weapon and a martyr. Where the battle between Slytherin and Gryffindor began and ended with the death of the Slytherin Line 1000-years into the future.

As Rowena would say, '_What goes around, comes around_.'

After the death of Voldemort, his true death, the Wizarding World hailed him as a Messiah, the Second Coming of Merlin.

It got to the point where he was too scared to leave Grimmauld Place – Sirius left it to him when he died, along with Lordship over the Black Family estate – he had reporters camped out on his doorstep and up and down the street. The moment he stepped out he would be mobbed, his hair would be torn out, people would try to steal his clothes, his blood, kiss him, hug him, take his picture, touch him. There would be fights over who got closest and he was small, easily pushed around, there had been one incident where two witches had gotten into a fight and ended up dislocating both his arms. It was only when he screamed in pain that they realised what had happened, the two women had actually been sent to St Mungos right beside him though in infinitely worse condition.(2)

It honestly terrified him.

He'd even heard of people using his DNA, hair, blood, even urine – though how they got hold of that he did _not_ know or even _want_ to – in Polyjuice Potions for prostitutes or Partners, just to so they could fuck someone wearing his face and imagine. And after the months he spent entertaining the Death Eaters... he recoiled even from the thought, wanted to throw up and hide in a corner and die.

He couldn't handle it, his friends knew he couldn't handle it; the public didn't care if he couldn't handle it. He was their property, theirs to do with what they liked.

He had to get out.

It was Sirius's dead fiancée who gave him the idea – her ghost was still haunting Grimmauld Place to keep him company as Sirius's soul was too scarred, too damaged to be capable of remaining on after death.

Kayleigh Hitsugaya had been in the same year as his mum, been one of her bestfriends and played opposite Sirius as a Beater for the Gryffindor Team; she even joined Sirius and James at Auror Academy. She had been taken off active duty when she got into a duel with Evan Rosier during the first rise, he shattered her hip and scarred the entire left side of her body, the Ministry refused to let her back in the fight due to her limp. She'd been demoted to a desk jockie and she _loathed_ it. It was around about then that she and Sirius got over their little snark-bitch-argue thing and became friends, and then eventually... more than friends.

She had been one of the very few people who refused to believe the story about him betraying James. Even going as far as punching Remus when he argued with her before cutting all contact with the werewolf until someone pounded some sense into his skull.

Kayleigh's mum Kaede had moved back to Japan after the death of her Husband in the First Rise and became the head of the Anti-Terrorist and Organised Crime Division of the Japanese Magical Law Enforcement Department. So the bear Animagus – because Sirius just _had_ to teach his future wife how to be an Animagus so she could join them on the full Moon – knew a fair few people over there in Law Enforcement and suggested he get in contact with Kaede.

Harry was taken in under protective custody by the Japanese and in return he would work for Kaede-san in the Anti-terrorist and Organized Crime Division. And the rest, they say, is History.

And here he was at Ouran Gakuin, training to hopefully become a Doctor, to save lives... rather than take them as he had been forced to in the past. And would no doubt be forced to do so again.

The bell rang and Harry swept his belongings into his bag and fled.

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**(1) Romaji Cursive script**: There are four alphabets in Japanese, Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji and Romanji. Romanji – as its name suggests – is based on the Roman alphabet, or in other words, this one, the ABCs. Cursive script is an elegant form of handwriting that was traditionally practiced before ball-point pens were created, thus is most commonly used when writing with a fountain pen or a _quill_. Fact of the matter is, I've tried writing with a quill once, it was for a GCSE art project, and they're difficult as hell to write with normally. Cursive is about the only way one can write anything _legible_ with a quill in my experience.

**(2) The over zealous fans**: It's happened. Celebrities have been attacked in similar manners, that guy, what's his face the lead singer of HIM was attacked by a woman with a pair of scissors, she half cut-half ripped a hank of his hair out and ran off before anyone could stop her. You get some weird people in the world and considering how much the Wizarding World pandered to Harry the first time, the fact that he destroyed Voldemort a second time they're going to be even _worse_.

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**There you go, the first chapter of ****Black Birds****. I warn you guys, I don't write sex scenes often, but blood, gore and violence I do tend to get fairly graphic with. **

**So... those with weak stomachs, say so in the reviews and so I'll know if I have to post warnings before I get detailed.**

**I'll put warnings at the beginning of the chapters saying whether or not I've got something cooking that may be... nauseating. XDD I've been told by my teacher that I should look into writing horror because she almost lost her lunch at one point. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad one so I'm just warning you guys now, the Death Eaters were sadists.**

**Reviews make the Authoress get inspiration. Well... motivation in anycase.**

Araceil


	2. Chapter 2

**Black Birds**

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**CHAPTER TWO**

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**WARNING**

**There will be a bit of OOC as well as some angst and hintings of prior-torture in this chapter**

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Harry – he should really get used to his new name though – sighed deeply as he leaned against the tree behind him.

Most of the students at Ouran usually attended a club after school to socialise and have something extra added to their personal record, Shikamaru had yet to decide on a club. And since he didn't really have any _burning_ desire to go back to his little apartment and clatter around on his own, he usually opted to remain behind on campus... usually drawing.

The green eyed teenager looked upwards as he heard a gentle flutter of wings and the familiar coo of his snowy owl overhead; he smiled as Hedwig peered down from the tree branches with large golden eyes. While Shikamaru had been originally thinking of leaving her in the care of the Weasleys or with Hermione where she would be safe, Hedwig it seemed had other ideas and followed him all the way to Japan. He'd only just finished moving in when a severely displeased snowy-owl was clattering against his windows fairly shrieking with anger at him. Now, she hovered around him nearly enough every day just to make sure he didn't attempt to leave without her again.

He was her human and she wasn't letting him leave her.

"Hey Hedwig." He greeted, lifting a forearm for her to land, the large white avian hopping down gracefully to land on his twig-like limb before swiftly changing her perch to his shoulder and cooing as she nibbled his ear slightly. The green eyed teen laughed slightly as he pulled his head away and ran a finger down her breast feathers before showing her the sketch he had been working on before she landed.

"What do you think?" He asked showing her the detailed pencil shading of Hermione studying in the Gryffindor Tower window seat, the early morning sun highlighting the wavy curls in her hair and giving her features a soft glow.

It was suggested by Madam Pomfrey that he got a hobby, since flying was out of the question with everyone out hunting for him dead or alive. She told him that a constructive outlet, a way for him to just release all thought and emotion, would help him calm down and sort his head out. She was right and after a while Shikamaru had developed a real talent for art, it didn't matter what kind, he had some ink paintings a few pages back along with a water colour image of Hogwarts and even an oil canvas of Sirius and Kayleigh's last stand in the Ministry of Magic's Atrium.

Hedwig hooted approvingly and bobbed her head up and down rapidly, obviously recognising the Muggleborn girl that Shikamaru had considered his sister in all but blood.

He chuckled and added a little more detail onto her book, chatting quietly with Hedwig in English listening to her chirps, hoots, coos and the way she clicked her beak. The dark haired teenager had always been close to the white avian, even as an eleven-year-old she had been more than just a pet and a messenger, she had been his best friend and confidante longer than Ron or Hermione. They shared something special and even if the words weren't understood, they knew what one another meant. Shikamaru likened it to the bond between Fawkes and Dumbledore sometimes; even Hermione and Crookshanks seemed to share a similar bond. He was loath to call it a familiar bond; Hedwig did _not_ belong to him, she was free to do as she pleased; she was his friend.

But he was glad she chose to follow him half way around the world.

Time passed unusually quickly, the two just sitting there under the tree talking quietly as Shikamaru drew; he finished his drawing of Hermione and turned the page to draw a picture of Hedwig herself, drawing a surprised hoot from the bird when she finally divined what he was putting onto the paper. Neither of them noticed the blue eyes watching them from the Third Floor window.

Perched on the window sill of the Third Floor Music Room, Suou Tamaki watched as his classmate sat under a tree and sketched with a simply _gorgeous_ white owl perched on his shoulder while Haruhi-chan learned how to dance with the help of Kasugazaki-san. The other Hosts just thought he was being dramatic and pouty – which he was on some level – but he was watching his classmate very closely.

Kami-sama, that _smile_.

The blonde Host repressed a twitch, if he had not already checked the student registry he would have thought Akegata-san was female, he had never seen a man smile _anything_ like the way he just had. It was... breath-taking.

Perhaps they really _should_ try to recruit Akegata-san into the Host Club?

If Tamaki could get him to smile _that smile_ at any of the customers he was fairly certain that at least several of them would faint or find themselves nursing major crushes on the green eyed transfer student. Tamaki also didn't doubt that he would be able to draw in a few other men into the Host Club as well – they did get a few now and again but the girls tended to drive them off with the constant squeals of '_moe_' whatever that meant, Tamaki was too worried to look it up in the dictionary – he certainly looked delicate enough to draw in the more domineering characters yet strong enough to attract the submissive ones as well.

A startled squeal of pain suddenly jarred him out of his pondering as Kasugazaki-san burned herself with hot tea by accident, Tamaki blinked in bewilderment as Haruhi-chan took her to the nurse's office. Didn't she know that the Nurse was away for the week? It was the Second Years' Physical Examination Day soon so she was given the week off so that the Ootori Hospital Staff had a free reign. In fact... Tamaki frowned, wasn't their Examination Day this Friday?

A sharp hoot and clatter at the window suddenly grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.

Tamaki swivelled around so sharply his neck popped slightly as he stared with wide eyes at the pure white owl perched on the window sill outside, examining them with judgemental golden eyes. Blue eyes slid to the side and spotted Akegata-san getting to his feet, perplexed frown on his features as he shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up at them.

"Tono... what..." The twins asked in sync before faltering and staring in sheer bewilderment. Even Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai had stopped dancing.

"Snowy Owl, a female." Mori intoned, his voice slightly coloured with surprise as those golden eyes turned onto him before the white owl hooted and tapped at the window again.

"I think Mimizuku-chan wants to come in." Hani exclaimed.

Hikaru frowned, "Why would we want some dirty bird in here?" He demanded petulantly marching over and slapping a hand sharply against the glass, Hani wailed and ran forward to stop the eldest of the Hitachiin twins but tripped, Mori – of course – being a few steps behind his cousin accidentally stepped on the prone blonde at his feet, all the while Hikaru's slap to the glass startling Hedwig who took once again to the air with a shriek.

Hikaru paused as the white owl launched herself down into the gardens and right into the arms of a dark haired teenager he had never seen before, the green eyed teen raised an arm for the owl to land on, his glasses being knocked off by the panicked avian's rapid wing beats before she finally calmed down and clawed her way up to his shoulder hooting indignantly and actually _glaring_ at him. How the hell did an _owl_, a stupid _bird_, glare at him!?

Tempted to throw open the window and throw something at the bird Hikaru had a split second to realise the boy had followed where the owl was looking and was now giving him a glare that could strip skin from bone.

Tamaki, from behind Hikaru, could see the look on Akegata-san's face as he smoothed a hand down the flustered bird's back, listening with half an ear as Hani-senpai wailed before being scooped up by his cousin and rushed down to the medical room. He shivered, that was a look he usually associated with Hani-senpai in an absolutely foul mood or worse, _Kyouya_ in a foul mood.

Akegata-san left, bag slung over one shoulder, owl on the other, a pair of golden eyes twisting around to continue the glare as the pair matched off.

He began to breathe a little more easily.

"Who was that? Hikaru demanded still somewhat shaken but hiding it quite well.

"That, was Akegata Shikamaru, an exchange student in our class." Kyouya explained as he calmly made a few notes on his clipboard, "Though I was not aware he had a pet bird. Let alone one as rare as a Snowy owl."

Hikaru huffed, "So, _who_ is he? You always know everything about everyone Kyouya-senpai. What's the scoop?"

He pushed his glasses up slightly in irritation, "There isn't one. Akegata-san has no records within Japan save his registration as an Ouran Student, records of him renting a small single roomed apartment and registering for a student's train ticket that would take him to and from Ouran everyday. Incidentally, the same train that Haruhi-san also travels. If anything, she will know more about Akegata-san than even I. There aren't even any records of him entering into the country."

And that seemed to _really_ frustrate the young Ootori son something _awful_.

-

Two days later on the Thursday morning, it was Kyouya who found himself on the receiving end of Akegata-san's not so inconsiderable temper.

Ten minutes before the beginning of class, Ootori Kyouya had been running yet another websearch on his classmate Shikamaru and coming up with a frustrating _lack_ of information on the teenager in question, though he was rather intrigued by the Shikamaru chap featured in the Commoner Manga '_Naruto_'.

Kyouya barely had a split second to wrench his hands away from his laptop as a small pale hand slammed it shut and Kyouya found himself looking up in to the quite frankly, _furious_ features of the very teen he was investigating.

"Is there something I can help y-"

"Yes there is Ootori-san." He snapped, cutting him off much to Kyouya's surprise. "You can stop poking your nose into my private life and past. They are just that: _**private**_." He hissed malevolently, green eyes narrowing darkly on the surprised Host Club member, he had been _extremely_ careful not to get caught investigating Akegata-san, his resources and such were unknown and he had no intention of causing offence by getting _caught_ poking through the teenager's private affairs. Which he just had been and obviously _did_.

"I assur-"

"_Persist_ in your ferreting around for information and I _will_ have you arrested for Breach of Privacy and Stalking. Ootori or not, I have bigger friends in higher places than you. Leave me the hell alone." The 17-year-old continued, cutting Kyouya off yet again before turning away and leaving the stunned Host in his seat and brushing past the equally shocked students who had also come in early enough to catch the encounter.

The dark haired teenager took his seat, unpacked his things and finished up some last minute homework, all the while primly ignoring all the eyes on him, including Kyouya's.

-

It was Physical Examination day that things began to fall apart for Shikamaru.

"What do you mean '_Physical Examination_' Day?" He asked sharply when Jonouchi Ayame mentioned it to him, the bespectacled woman gave him a flat stare.

"Exactly what I said. Physical Examination Day is today." She informed him, "Did you not receive the missive stating that you would be required to submit to a full examination? Your records were unfortunately lost and they need to be replaced in case you have a medical emergency while attending Ouran."

Shikamaru resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, "No, I didn't receive the Missive. If I had, I would have not come in today." He informed her coolly before looking at her again, "You never did say exactly what Physical Examination Day _is_." He reminded her.

"Ah, my apologies. Physical Examination Day is simply a physical examination day, doctors and medical practicioners will give you an examination, note down any changes and anything that you may need assistance with and offer advice. I assume you did not have such things at your previous school?" Ayame-san asked, an eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"No we didn't. Or if we did I never attended one. I doubt it was needed. It seems like I spent more time in the Hospital Wing than actual lessons looking back." He complained flatly before scratching at the back of his neck, following the girl out of the classroom to where he would essentially be poked and prodded with cold instruments. He repressed a grimace, "How are they going to do this? With my Aphephobia..." He trailed off tightly.

Ayame blinked in surprise before fiddling nervously with the cuffs of her uniform, "I had not considered that Akegata-san." She admitted apologetically as they approached the rooms, "Never the less, I am afraid it is something you will have to suffer through. If your comments about spending much of your time within the Medical Facilities are true, then it is _essential_ that the school and the Ootori Hospitals have a complete and thorough medical profile with which to treat you should the worst happen."

Shikamaru sighed slightly and rubbed his fingers against his temples, Ootori, again.

If he hadn't been told earlier that _every_ class in _every_ year had to submit to this once he would have blown his top again and this time taken Ootori-san's laptop and shoved it up where the sun didn't shine.

"_**IRASHAIMASE!**_"

Shikamaru jerked backwards as the doors to the medical rooms opened and the line up of nurses and doctors greeted them, unpleasant memories flaring through his mind of walking into the main chamber of Riddle Manor and having the Death Eaters smirking, giggling making sarcastic commentary as he was dragged forward by his hair. And Voldemort seated in front of them all, his throne made of black and silver marble, gross distended faces carved into the black stone... muggles and Muggleborns, complete domination of the '_lesser_' beings.

"This way Akegata-san." Ayame called a few paces ahead of the ashen white featured teenager, if she noticed his reaction – which she did – she did not mention it, and he was grateful for it. He knew he was far from over his time fighting Voldemort, but he had not expected it to be this bad. He had been in Japan for three months already and he was still getting flashbacks at odd moments, his nightmares were horrific to the point where he was in danger of becoming addicted to Dreamless Sleep, muggle Sleeping Pills and he was already suffering from insomnia.

The green eyed teenager swallowed tightly and trailed off after her, ignoring the eyes of Tamaki and Kyouya as they burned into his back from where they had been whisked away by their own attendants.

"Akegata-san, this is Sakura-Kangofu and Kentaro-sensei. They will be seeing to your examination." Ayame declared from her position beside the pretty dark haired nurse, Sakura smiled at him from beside Kentaro – a taller doctor sporting slicked back blonde hair and a vaguely pointed face that reminded Shikamaru far too much like Draco Malfoy.

Shikamaru eyed the doctor before shaking his head, "No offence intended Kentaro-sensei, but... I would prefer if a female doctor examined me." He stated, keeping his features carefully blank and expressionless.

The blonde doctor winced and gave him a small sympathetic smile, "Due to your Aphephobia correct?" He asked quietly.

The teenager merely nodded stiffly.

"Very well then. I'm sure that Sakura-Kangofu can take care of you until Konoka-sensei is free. Akegata-sama, Jonouchi-no-kimi." He bid them before turning and leaving to ensnare another student. Shikamaru released the breath that he hadn't realised he was holding, his body relaxing almost imperceptivity now that the blonde man was gone. Never the less, Ayame-chan and Sakura-Kangofu noticed.

"Now then. If you would please toe off your shoes we'll get started by measuring your height Akegata-sama." Sakura chirped happily, brandishing a tape-measure in a fashion that had the image of Bellatrix Lestrange and a knife overlapping her.

Shikamaru took a startled half-step backwards before shaking himself out of his and following her orders, another nurse – Yoshino as she introduced herself – came and abducted Ayame-chan. The cheery nurse was very careful to not make any unnecessary movements or even touch him as she put the tape measure on the floor, pinning it in place with the toe of her own shoe and holding it up to measure his rather depressingly short height.

"Five foot three and a half inches, that's 161 centimetres high." She declared happily making a note of it on her clipboard, ignoring the sound of disgust in the back of her patient's throat. "Please remove your jacket and step onto the weight scales here." She stated pointing to the white square just to his right.

Shikamaru sighed and did as told, privately wondering how long this was going to take and whether or not if he could Disillusion himself, sneak away and get into contact with the Japanese Ministry to get a Magical scan and have them falsify his medical documents... he doubted it. They had been wonderfully nice to him but considering his luck with the government Shikamaru would probably have more luck French kissing a Norwegian Ridgeback.

He never realised she would ask him to remove his shirt, in front of everyone in the not-so-private cubicle they were using for his examination.

-

Kyouya sighed as he allowed the nurse to wrap the measurement tape around his chest; he was still somewhat alarmed that Akegata-san would so brazenly call him out and threaten him, with full knowledge of the weight his family name held.

What made him all the more irritated with the situation was that without any information on Akegata Shikamaru, Kyouya couldn't confirm whether or not he could go through with such a threat.

So until he was certain, he had to call his investigatory team off.

Tamaki had already approached him with his thoughts of attempting to convince Akegata-san into becoming a Host but Kyouya had his doubts, not only was the other teenager antisocial to the point of vulgarity, but regardless of his looks he was certainly a very prickly character who only associated with a select few, none of which associated with the Host Club in any fashion Kyouya knew of. Jonouchi-no-kimi being the most prominent of those associates along with a first year surprisingly enough, Kasanoda Ritsu of First Year Class D, a Yakuza child. Supposedly the most fearsome of the Kasanoda-gumi.

Kyouya sighed quietly, tuning out the useless prattle of the nurse and the fangirls leering into his stall, he could hear Tamaki lapping up all the attention in the booth beside him, even charming several of the girls as well. This brought a small wicked little smile to the third Ootori son's lips; designations would probably up a whole 3-percent after this.

Physical Examination Day for the Second Years went surprisingly smoothly, there was only a little drama when one of the girls fainted at some point for no reason that she was willing to give.

The Ootori Heir confessed to being extremely curious about the results of his Classmate's full examination, Jounochi-no-kimi had informed him that Akegata-san had asked for Kentaro-sensei to be designated elsewhere, which only confirmed the spectacled teen's suspicions that Akegata-san's Aphephobia being particularly affected by male contact.

With the physical examinations over, Kyouya slipped through the absently milling students to the booth he had designated for Sakura-Kangofu and found her making several notations into what was to be Akegata-san's official medical file.

"Sakura-kangofu." He greeted her simply watching as the diminutive dark haired nurse turned and gave him a warm smile.

"Ootori-sama. How are you?"

"Quite well. Is that Akegata-san's file?" He asked eyeing it with a small frown, "It's... rather..."

"Thick?" The woman offered a sad half smile on her lips. "Yes it is. But unfortunately, the extra space is needed. Poor boy." She shook her head as she signed her name at the bottom of the file and set about organising it. "Tell me, is he living with his guardians? Foster parents?" She asked.

Kyouya shook his head, "No. He lives alone in a middle-class neighbourhood reputed for being a child-safe environment." He frowned slightly, "Why do you ask?"

Sakura got to her feet and smoothed her dress before holding the file out to him, "Because he shows signs of severe mental and physical trauma over an extended period of time." She told him simply as the third Ootori son accepted the file from her. The woman's face was unusually cold and serious, "Ootori-sama... Whoever did this to him... they deserve the harshest punishments that you can rain down upon them."

And if that wasn't an invitation to unleash his Inner!Sadist Kyouya didn't know what was.

He had never seen the usually docile and cheerful Nurse so angry before in his life, "I will look into it Sakura-kangofu." He assured her, watching as the dark haired woman bowed formally to him with a respectful '_Ootori-sama_' before leaving the curtained off booth.

Curious about his classmate, Kyouya took her seat and flipped open the file.

-

**NAME:**_ AKEGATA SHIKAMARU_

**CLASS:** _SECOND YEAR – CLASS A_

**AGE:**_ 17_

**DATE OF BIRTH:**_ JULY 31st 1990_(1)

**PLACE OF BIRTH:**_ GODRIC'S HALLOW, WALES, UNITED KINGDOM_

**ETHNICITY:**_ WHITE – BRITISH_

**BLOOD TYPE:**_ A NEGATIVE_

**HEIGHT:**_ 5'3.5" / 161cm_

**WEIGHT:**_ 6.3 stone _(Dangerously under weight – Anorexia/malnutrition over an extended period of time)

**SIGHT:**_ 46/18_

**OBSERVATIONS:**_ AKEGATA-SAN HAS A NUMBER OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL SCARS – POSSIBLE CHILD ABUSE OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. STUNTED HEIGHT – LOW BLOOD PRESSURE – ANOREXIA/MALNUTRITION – APHEPHOBIA, EXASERBATED VIA MALE PRESENCE – EXTREMELY BAD PHYSICAL SCARRING : SIGNS OF EXTREME ABUSE, IF NOT TORTURE._

_- BLOOD AND URINE SAMPLES PLACED UNDER _**RUSH**_ ORDER – RESULTS SHOULD BE VIABLE WITHIN THREE DAYS._

_- CURRENT DIAGONISTIC: SEEK PSYCHIATRIC ASSISTANCE _**IMMEDIATELY**.

_SIGNED_

Seikiin Sakura

-

Kyouya swallowed tightly as he carefully moved the general medical profile aside, normally he would have read the whole thing but even he had morals.

He did however; study the Polaroid photographs Sakura-kangofu included in Akegata-san's profile, the photographs of the scars across his body. It was only the simple fact that it was close to Lunch time and Kyouya had not eaten yet that prevented him from doing anything more than turning a ghostly pale white at the thick blotchy scar tissue that patterned his classmate's back, chest, hips and arms, at the wraith-like skinniness of his body, each rib in stark relief under pale skin.

He shook his head and packed the pictures away and closed the folder sharply, shaking his head against as he got to his feet.

That was not abuse.

That was torture.

-

July 31 1990. I bumped his birthday up a whole decade; otherwise he'd be 27 when Ouran takes place. Though it would be amusing to see him as an old dude teacher.

-

**Yeah. Kyouya knows.**

**Originally I had it as ****EVERYONE**** found out because some silly girl screamed blue murder when she caught a look at him shirtless. You know, to get the drama-llama of him being horrifically scarred when the Death Eaters decided to have a more '**_hands on_**' kind of fun over more quickly.**

**But I think this is a little more interesting don't you?**

**Kyouya's a nosy bastard though, enough so that he would go through someone's medical records. XDDD things'll work out. I know what I'm doing.**

**Kinda.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Black Birds**

-

Shikamaru sighed as he laid down his pencil for the umpteenth time that eve and picked up the soft white nub of his eraser, clearing away the faint smudging and sharpening the lines of the Number Three Green House of Hogwarts Herbology Department.

The 17-year-old was leaning against the wall just beneath the window of his kitchen, it was pretty late at roughly 1AM and his front door and window were wide open, the smell of poorly cooked beef curry venting out of the small apartment as the teenager drew in the light coming from his open doorway – Hedwig perched on the railings before him watching him and the world around them for any signs of danger. That was the last time Shika ever attempted to cook beef-curry again, Ranka-chan wouldn't stop laughing on her way to work having seen her neighbour banished from his own home because of the eye-watering smell. It was then that Shika learned about the Host Club's Christmas Ball, which truly boggled Shikamaru's mind, after all...

A Christmas Ball... at this time of year? It had barely been a month since the start of Term! It was still far too early.

Then he just brushed it off, must have been a Rich thing, any excuse to dress-up, show off and waste a butt-load of money on expensive food and a live orchestra.

Ranka offered him the spare Futon if his apartment hadn't finished airing by the time Haruhi-chan returned but Shikamaru had refused. When he finally managed to get to sleep his screaming nightmares were not exactly the best for anyone in the immediate vicinity.

It also didn't change the fact that his insides were still gnawing at him in guilt. Guilt over the way he had treated Ootori-san, he felt like a git. Only people like Draco Malfoy and Vernon Dursley threw their weight around in such a manner. It made his stomach turn to think that he could be compared to the likes of them.

He would have to find a way of apologising to his classmate.

The teenager sighed and rubbed at his sore eyes, dimly aware of the limousine pulling up and the way Hedwig's luminous amber eyes followed it sharply. If there was any hint of danger he knew she would warn him, there were very few others he would trust as much as he did his feathered friend.

It was only when she cooed in recognition that Shikamaru looked up, spotting Haruhi-chan being helped out of the car by an unusually tall dark haired teen in a suit he vaguely recalled seeing around school. But the attractive dark haired teenager wasn't what he was interested in; it was the fact that Haruhi-chan was still wearing her borrowed clothing and an over the top bandage around her ankle.

"Bai bai Haru-chan!" Chirped a bubbly child-like voice from within the limo, which, at his current angle, he couldn't see, not that he really cared at the moment, Haruhi-chan was hurt. Sensing her master's distress; Hedwig took off in a flurry of feathers as he set aside his drawings and supplies.

"Thanks for the lift Mori-senpai, Hani-senpai." The dark haired girl chirped smiling at them.

"Aa. Do you need help up the stairs?" The tall Senior asked, any reply from the younger girl cut off as Hedwig landed on her shoulder in a flurry, wings still outstretched as she dipped, hovering protectively on the first-year's shoulder, clicking her beak and glaring at the dark haired teenager.

"Hedowigu-chan?" Haruhi spluttered in surprise shifting her head to look at the bird, accidentally putting more weight than she should have on her injured ankle, crumpling slightly with a squeak. Mori reaching to catch her – only to be warded off by Hedwig snapping her beak at him with an angry shriek – and Haruhi to topple backwards into Shikamaru who had appeared behind her in the nick of time.

"Hedwig, back off for a sec." He told the bird in English, watching as she snapped her beak indignantly and clattered onto the limo roof, still glaring at Mori. "What happened, Haruhi-chan?" Shikamaru asked, shooting Mori a studying glance before brushing him off.

Haruhi however pushed herself out of his grasp and frowned at him, ignoring the question, "Its 2am in the morning, why aren't you in bed? Didn't the doctors at your Physical Exam day say you needed to sleep more?" She pointed out making Shikamaru run a hand through his hair in agitation.

"Haruhi-chan, insomnia isn't something I can just _turn off_." He complained, "And don't dodge the question." He ordered dropping to the floor and touching her ankle, "You're hurt."

She huffed, well aware of Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai watching the two of them in bemused silence and eyeing Hedwig warily as she furled and unfurled her wings, clicked her beak and glowered at them. Neither of them complained about the scratches she was leaving in the paintwork of the roof.

"It's just a sprain. No big deal Shika."

If the seniors thought her use of his first name without honorifics was odd they didn't mention it.

Shikamaru hummed thoughtfully, "Why all the bandages then?" He asked a very faint frown creasing his features as he pushed himself to his feet.

Haruhi huffed, "Rich people." She stated, as if it explained everything, which it did considering how Shikamaru nodded with a knowing look on his face.

"Haru-chan?" Hani-senpai asked quietly from where he was clinging to Mori.

The girl blinked and looked at them in surprise before snapping her fingers, "Oh, I almost forgot. Shika, meet Haninozuka Mitsukuni and Morinozuka Takashi of Third Year – Class A. Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai, this is Akegata Shikamaru, Second Year – Class A along with Tamaki-senpai and Kyouya-senpai. And this is Hedowigu-chan, his owl." She introduced, Shikamaru giving a small nod when he was introduced, Hedwig landing on his shoulder and hooting softly when her name was mentioned.

"I'm sorry about Hedwig earlier Morinozuka-senpai." Shikamaru said, running a hand down her white breasts, "She's a tad defensive around strangers."

"Aa." Mori agreed, eyeing the bird with a mix of awe and wariness, absently wondering if his Piyo-chan would eventually grow into a bird similar to Hedwig. The white owl gave him another once over, her head bobbing before she hooted approvingly and decided to ignore him and focus on picking through Shikamaru's long hair, tugging on the inky-black strands and trying to put them into some semblance of order.

Haruhi chuckled before turning to the seniors, "Again, thank you for the lift guys. And I'll be alright Mori-senpai, it's just a sprain, I'll be fine by Monday." She assured them taking a few limping steps away from the car, almost falling again if the way Shikamaru gripped her elbow was any indication.

The two seniors nodded and returned to the car, giving the dark haired teen with the owl another measuring look before closing the door and driving off.

Shika merely sighed and turned his attention to helping Haruhi get up the stairs, of course she would deny help from what was his name? Morinozuki? Of course she would deny his help, she was exactly like him, too used to doing things by herself, too used to taking care of herself, that allowing other people to take the slack and try to take care of her for once was a foreign concept.

"Do you smell beef?" Haruhi asked abruptly making him turn pink.

"Aa, sorry about that. My dinner exploded."

She just laughed and patted his head.

-

Shikamaru sighed as he leaned back in his seat shuffling his papers, when he agreed to help Hitsugaya-taichou with her ATOCD – Anti-terrorist and Organised Crime Division – he hadn't thought so much paperwork would have been involved. Otherwise he probably would have refused.

The dark haired teen ran a hand through his frazzled hair before tugging it out of its hair band and retying it, making sure to capture all but a few strands of hair he used to cover his Curse Scar. Glancing out of the window he shook his head before checking the date on his watch...

Perhaps he should just chuck seasonal calendars out of the window here at Ouran. It wasn't as if anyone in this place actually followed them, let _alone_ the plant life here.

"Shika, there you are." A voice greeted him from the doorway, green eyes blinked blearily at his next-door neighbour with a frown.

"Haruhi-chan. What are you doing here?" He asked in faint confusion.

She huffed and raised an eyebrow, "You forgot that we were going to eat lunch together today didn't you?" She asked, a small shake of her head betraying her disappointment at his forgetfulness.

"Aa, sorry Haruhi. I've just been a little caught up with everything." He apologised rubbing at his eyes as the girl pretending to be a boy took the seat in front of him and brought out her large Bento box.

"Its because you don't sleep Shika. I bet you even forgot to pack your own lunch again." She chastised.

The green eyed teen glowered at her before packing away the files sent to him earlier that morning by a rather handsome Kestrel which gave Hedwig more than a passing look – Hedwig however did not share his fascination and turned her back on him, fanning her tail feathers in scorn. Something which greatly amused Shikamaru.

"Here. It's a good thing I made extra just in case." The girl ordered handing him a spare set of chopsticks, Shikamaru would have refused, but the look on the girl's face was so reminiscent of Hermione when she would _not_ take no for an answer he didn't bother arguing and accepted them before stealing one of her green-pepper Hosomaki rolls.

The two chattered quietly, Haruhi managing to drag Shikamaru into the conversation inch by inch, she wasn't much of a talker herself but even she knew that the European boy needed to socialise more, he was too shy and withdrawn, it wasn't healthy. Eventually the two were laughing over one of Ranka's bad attempts at cooking a birthday cake while Shikamaru explained how one of his old friends couldn't figure out how to work the toaster and ended up putting a few slices of ham into it thinking it was a new way of cooking only to have the thing burst into flames and promptly run out of the house screaming. The two were laughing so hard they didn't notice the bell for the end of lunch ringing and the students of 2A returning.

"W-when we finally managed to put out the flames he just kind of... poked it and asked Hermione if it was ready to eat! I could have died. He almost did." Shikamaru explained choking on his laughter smiling warmly as he remembered some of the few good times he shared with his friends before the war truly got out of hand.

"Haruhi?"

The pair looked up at Tamaki who was staring at them in shock from the doorway, Kyouya right beside him.

"Is lunch over already?" The girl pondered before grabbing Shikamaru's wrist to check his watch, the boy's other hand occupied with his chopsticks and the last of the carrot and ginger hosomaki rolls going into his mouth – he hadn't even reacted when the girl touched him they noticed, Kyouya being the only one of the pair to understand _why_ though – and got to her feet and began to put away her things. "Gotta go. You going to wait for me by the gate again?" She asked looking at the teenager who currently had her chopsticks hanging out of his mouth.

"Maybe. I was thinking about looking into the Art Club so I may be a little late."

She nodded and smiled, "Sure, I'll wait. You're cooking tonight by the way." She declared before swiftly running out of the room before he could splutter out a denial, greeting the two other Hosts as she left before Tamaki could glomp her.

Shikamaru sighed and put his used chopsticks in his bag's front pocket, tensing noticeably when the blonde leaned over his desk threateningly. Green eyes flashed and narrowed in a glare at him, "Can I help you Suou-san?" He asked frostily, shoulders hunched and his weight prepared to move should he get violent. He didn't like having people hovering like that, it made him twitchy.

"How do you know Haruhi-chan?" The blonde asked suspiciously - though it ended up sounding a bit whiny to be honest.

"She's my next-door neighbour." The green eyed teen stated, said eyes narrowing in equal suspicion, why on Earth would Suou care who Haruhi socialised with?

"You're not a scholarship student, how can you be her next-door neighbour?"

"Not everyone likes living in a mansion." Shikamaru growled. "Ask her yourself if you don't believe me."

"I think I will." Tamaki bit out, straightening.

"You do that." Shika shot back slouching in his seat, still glaring at the blonde before turning his attention to gathering his notes and text book for the next lesson. There goes any chance of _him_ feeling guilty about being a bastard to the Hosts.

Kyouya raised an eyebrow at Tamaki who primly took his seat. And then began to sulk.

The dark haired teenager wisely refrained from any smart-alec retorts as Tamaki would just wail and shriek and then be useless for the Club meeting this afternoon and Shikamaru was within hearing distance and not unlikely to add something scathing enough to make Tamaki useless for the rest of the _week_.

The teacher walked in and the lesson began.

-

Shikamaru smiled faintly as he waved goodbye to one of the girls in the Art Club, Kakuyoku Haku was a Senior who had a strange love of life-drawing, she had spent the entire club meet sketching out Shika while he finished his drawing of Hogwarts, adding the finishing touch of a stag grazing on the short cropped grass in front of the lake.

They had chatted quite a bit and Shikamaru had learned that she was in the same class as the two Seniors that Haruhi seemed to be close with, Mori and Honi he thought their names were, her family specialised in museums which was where she gained her love of art, she had an older brother and sister, twins, who were set to take control of the company and she was already in an arranged marriage with a man who had graduated two years before hand. She didn't seem too unhappy about it all, as long as she was allowed to keep painting she didn't really mind all that much, she was even thinking about opening up her own gallery not long after she left Ouran.

The green eyed teen was late for meeting Haruhi-chan at the gate so he was understandably confused when he arrived and she wasn't there.

Perhaps she got held up at the Host Club meeting.

Sketchbook under arm, the dark haired teenager made his way to the Third Floor Music room curious about this Host Club he kept hearing the girls and a few guys squealing over, and Ayame-chan growling under her breath about.

When he got there, he was somewhat surprised to find the room empty, frowning in concern the dark haired teen set off heading towards the Security office; he would rather double check that Haruhi had left the grounds before kicking up a fuss. Even if every protective instinct in his body was currently screeching at him to do something.

Hence why he blinked in startled bewilderment at the sight of a group of teenagers stood in front of the Third Floor staff kitchens, occasionally students were allowed in with permission but still... in the time he had been here he had yet to hear of anyone actually using them. Approaching the group warily he recognised Ootori-san, Suou-san and the two Seniors he'd seen with Haruhi a week ago.

Perhaps they would know where she was.

"Ootori-san," He greeted, quietly stopping by the teenager's elbow, causing him to flinch ever so slightly in surprise and look down at him, silently raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Haruhi-chan was supposed to meet me earlier. I thought I should find out whether or not her Club activities ran over before I started calling Security." He explained simply.

"Aa. I apologise Akegata-san. Fujioka-san is currently entertaining one of our more important guests in the kitchens." He explained gesturing to the doors in which a pair of red headed twins and Suou-san were leering through a crack in the wood. Shikamaru frowned slightly,

"In the kitchens?" He asked.

The Ootori heir pushed up his glasses, "Indeed. Houshakuji-no-kimi expressed a desire to bake some sweets for us and Fujioka-san is the only one amongst us with a knowledge of how to do so."

"Shika-chan!" The short blonde senior squealed catching sight of him, grabbing the attention of Suou and the twins.

The dark haired teenager barely had a split second before the littlest of the Hosts was instantly latched around his waist, Kyouya watched in a mix of worry and fascination as all the colour drained from the teenager's already pale skin, green eyes widening before screwing shut tightly as his whole body tensed curling in on itself going completely motionless.

The dark haired Host moved first and swiftly removed the highly confused Hani from the teenager's waist, "Hani-senpai could you please refrain from any physical contact with Akegata-san. His Aphephobia is particularly bad." He explained making Hani's eyes widen to saucer like proportions and tears to instantly spring to the honey-brown orbs.

"WAAA GOMEN NE SHIKA-CHAN!!" The blonde wailed before thrusting his bunny at him, "You can hold Usa-chan if you want!"

Shikamaru took a deep breath and shook his head, straightening slightly, his arms subconsciously wrapping around himself protectively.

"I-its fine. I just... wasn't expecting it. T-thank you but no thank you H-Senpai." The dark haired teenager explained quietly, placing one hand against Usa-chan and gently pushing it back down to the teary-eyed blonde, "Usually I don't react... quite that badly. You just took me by surprise. Excuse me." He mumbled quietly, head still ducked low, his hands clutched white-knuckled on his sketchbook before he slid past the group of boys and into the kitchen.

" – put more sugar in the cream?" a tawny haired girl wrapped in a rose printed apron was asking as he slipped into the room, setting his sketchbook down on the side counter along with his bag and pausing to just breathe. He had not thought he would react quite like that to someone who was so obviously the complete opposite to any of the Death Eaters. Then again, he supposed he should be just glad he didn't break the boy's arm like he did to Mrs Weasley in the first week of his return from the Death Eater's care.

"Shika? What – oh I'm so sorry I should have sent you a text!" Haruhi's voice abruptly broke in through his steadily darkening thoughts, "Shika are you alright?" She asked pausing just in front of him, a hand hovering at his shoulder just long enough for him to notice and look up at her.

"Y-yes. I just... I see you're baking." He corrected himself, not wanting to worry her.

She nodded, "Yes, Renge-chan wanted to make some cookies for Kyouya-senpai." She explained with a small chuckle, Shikamaru smirked shakily and shook his head.

"Does she realise he'll just slip them into the bin when she's not looking?" He whispered.

"Probably not." The dark haired girl whispered back with an amused shake of her head, "Shika this is Houshakuji Renge from France. Renge-chan, this is my friend Akegata Shikamaru, he's in the same class as Kyouya-senpai."

The tawny haired girl, now identified as Renge-chan, abruptly jumped at him, causing the dark haired teenager to scoot backwards so fast that he accidentally knocked his sketchbook to the floor in his haste to get away from the girl who was determined to get into his personal bubble.

"Really?! You're a friend of Kyouya-sama's?!" She half shrieked, half squealed.

Shikamaru looked around him in panic for an exit, his skin yet again paling as he back peddled away from the advancing girl, "N-no not really. We're just in the same class." He wisely didn't mention the fact that he thought the Ootori was a nosy controlling bastard, he had more than enough experience with girls and their hero-worship to know when to hold his tongue to save his life.

The girl made a sound of disappointment in the back of her throat, "But you must know _something_ about my fiancée." She pleaded, not noticing the way his eyebrows shot up at the mention of fiancée. Was _everyone_ in this country arranged to be married by the time they were sixteen?

"Just that he's very stu- er I mean _determined_." He swiftly corrected himself, "C-could you back off a bit please Houshakuji-san? I-I'm not too good with people getting too close to me." He explained hesitantly, watching as the girl swiftly backpeddled away from him finally allowing him to relax. "Thank you Houshakuji-san."

"Oh call me Renge. Everyone does." The girl chirped happily, waving a hand before returning to her cooking, "I've been in France for the last six-years so I'm used to the European way of being addressed Shikamaru-kun." She explained happily.

The dark haired teen nodded, "Aa, that's good. What's France like? I've only been there once and well... It wasn't so much for pleasure." He explained sharp eyes cringing away from the mixture she was making.

Renge blinked, "Really? What were you doing?"

Shika shook his head, "That's not important. _Don't pour that in!_" He burst out catching the jar before she began to pour the olive oil into the mixture, "Are you trying to poison him?" He asked shaking his head before taking the bowl and spooning it into the bin, "Look, start again Renge-chan. Get all your ingredients and I'll walk you through it."

Haruhi giggled slightly as she watched Shikamaru coach Renge through baking non-lethal cookies, the girl flipped through his sketchbook absently while she waited for her own ginger cookies to finish baking. Dimly she was aware of Tamaki-senpai waxing poetic in the hall while she amused herself with the sketchbook, pausing when she came to a soft pastel portrait of a beautiful red headed woman with Shika's green-green eyes. Obviously his mother, their features were surprisingly similar, the same nose, eyes and mouth.

"You're too noisy **Fake King**."

The 'Commoner' Host looked up as she heard Renge telling Tamaki-senpai off while Shika was busy kneading the cookie dough; she ignored the Hosts as they – for lack of a more appropriate word – _spazzed_ out in the hall and watched silently as her friend continued to knead the dough before gently sprinkling flour across the worktop and getting the rolling pin, she looked back down at the picture of the pretty red head and smiled slightly, closing the book carefully. Perhaps now was not the best time to take a glimpse into her friend's life.

" – _AND YOU WILL BE THE POOR HONOUR STUDENT GETTING BULLIED!!_"

Especially with Renge getting in on the action.

-

Shikamaru merely shook his head as Ranka-chan roared with laughter as Haruhi explained the events of Renge's foray into movie making and the results it garnered.

"Tell me... did you see her taking any Crack Haruhi-chan?" Shikamaru asked lightly as he popped a length of tori-udon into his mouth.

The brunette merely giggled and shook her head – knowing exactly what he was thinking about.

"Hm. Pity. Whatever she's on I want some too."

The small threesome all laughed.

-

**I have flu but I have job interviews all week DDDX why does life hate me so?**

Reviews make the Author happy - and they'll help her recover 8DD

Araceil


	4. Chapter 4

**Black Birds**

-

Shikamaru didn't know how it happened but it did anyway.

Somehow Ranka managed to get him to eat dinner with himself and Haruhi almost every evening and get all the juicy gossip out of him - Shika discovered a small talent for gathering information and dissecting and understanding it during the war thus meaning he now had a bad habit of hording gossip, picking it apart, rearranging it and grasping the true concept of what was going on.

Ranka loved it.

Haruhi was somewhat surprised a boy had that ability – let alone such a recluse as him.

Shikamaru was just ashamed.

As such the small threesome found themselves yet again laughing over the Host Club's latest mission to prevent the knowledge of Haruhi's gender being leaked to the rest of the world, i.e. the rest of the student body, and the huge mess that they caused during the Physical Examination day for the First years. Particularly how they bribed her into going along with it with the promise of Ootoro.

That one got a good giggle out of the two men folk at the table.

Haruhi merely blushed and sulked slightly as she chewed slowly on the Sheppard's Pie Shika made for their dinner that night – in return for inviting him over he would occasionally cook dishes from his home country and various other countries, Ranka was of the opinion his sweets were better than the store bought stuff and occasionally asked him to bake a birthday cake for one of his co-workers when the occasion cropped up.

As of now, Haruhi was complaining about the twins treating her like some kind of toy and wanting to come over, Ranka seemed to think it was a fantastic idea, Shikamaru however.... had more than enough experience with mischievous twins.

"Ranka-chan, if the Hitachiin twins are _anything_ like a certain set of red headed twins I knew back home, you won't have an apartment to come home to when they're done." He explained a look of wry amusement on his face.

It was strange to him. He was beginning to relax, to open up a little to those around him, to Haruhi and Ranka-chan when previously it was only the others, only his friends and his '_Team_'. He only hoped it was a sign of recovery. That he found himself able to open up to others again was good; he didn't particularly want to go through life alone again.

"It doesn't matter anyway. They've apparently '_Severed all ties_'." Haruhi explained fiddling with her fork – transfigured from a chopstick before Shikamaru came over.

A single dark eyebrow arched sceptically, if those twins were anything like Fred and George...

They were probably faking it.

-

The next day Shikamaru couldn't say he wasn't surprised to walk into the cafeteria and find a bemused Haruhi watching a pair of twins – one pinked haired the other blue haired – demanding food in perfect synchrony before growling at each other and fighting.

"How long have they been like this?" He asked flatly appearing at Haruhi's elbow.

The girl rubbed her face, "All day. They've been dragging other people into it as well." She complained.

"Hnn." Shika grunted, "Let's grab a seat, they'll be finished soon enough." He stated marching away and grabbing a table, glancing over and spotting the twins practically smoosh a strawberry topped cake into Hani-senpai's hair before shouting yet again. The long haired teenager rolled his eyes and sat down, ignoring the sudden clamour from the other students, specifically the girls, as the rest of the Host Club came in and Tamaki practically pawed over Haruhi again before spacing out and allowing her to escape.

The younger girl hurriedly took a seat beside Shikamaru with whom he assumed was Hiitachin Hikaru on her otherside who then proceeded to try and exchange his lunch with her own. She refused which was probably a good idea if the chills crawling down his spine was any indication. The dark haired teenager calmly went about eating his lunch, his sketchbook on his otherside as he started another drawing, this time a Tarot Card featuring the Weasley Twins. All the talking of mischievous mischief making red heads last night put a pang of homesickness through him concerning his old friends and family. Thus spawning their likeness onto paper.

During his moment of inattentiveness, Hikaru somehow ended up with her lunchbox and Haruhi finally managed to taste some of the higher-class foods that really didn't do much for Shika. They just weren't filling enough for him.

Fairly soon a food fight broke out and he had to stop drawing and move his sketchbook under his shirt protectively or risk getting it soaked with Soup – like the Vice Principle's face when a poorly thrown fork from one of the twins narrowly missed Tamaki.

Despite not being involved, he somehow got roped into helping the Host Club members clean up after the impromptu food fight. Out of all the students, he was probably the only one not tired when they were finished. Cleaning up after the Dursleys and then again after the majority of the boys in his Dorm-room – it took a while for his Inner!Neat-Freak to win out over his sense of dignity and he ended up cleaning up after his dorm mates simply out of reflex, and because he kept tripping over Seamus's shoes and books and then landing face first in smelly socks and used underwear, Not pleasant – had been good practice.

Then he somehow ended up listening to what amounted to the Hitachiin Twins' life story from Hani-senpai and Tamaki-san. Interesting though it was – not – why tell him? He didn't give a rat's.

The dark haired teenager grumbled and leaned back in his seat as Tamaki raced off to punish the twins after an unpleasant prank involving what seemed to be spears aimed at one another. Haruhi wasn't far behind, no doubt to try and broker a truce between the two, leaving Shikamaru with Kyouya-san and the two Seniors.

"What cha Drawing Shika-chan?" Hani-senpai bubbled hopping into the seat beside him, the teenager tensing ever so slightly at the invasion of his personal space before forcing himself to calm down.

"Some friends from back home." He said cagily, not really comfortable with having others looking through his drawings. Not when he didn't know them.

Hani seemed to understand and smiled before bouncing off to 'Takashi'.

Leaving Shika to leaf absently through his drawings.

One of his mother, the Hungarian Horntail, of the twins on their Tarot Card, of Hermione reading in Gryffindor Tower, of Ron sprawled out on the couch in front of the fire, head tilted back, mouth open and snoring loudly with Hermione using him as a pillow, her hair in a disarray as a book dangled from her limp fingers. Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Cedric Diggory and an unfinished drawing of himself from the Triwizard Tournament. Fleur in her wedding dress beside a heavily scarred Bill Weasley who looked like the happiest man on earth. Remus and Tonks, the Metamorphagus with her heavily pouting belly and Remus stood behind her with his arms wrapped around the petite witch, a broad hand resting against the bump to feel his son kicking against his hand. His aunt and Uncle and Cousin, Dudley in front of the TV surrounded by food, his Aunt wearing that wrinkled expression of cold scorn, his Uncle larger than life and lined in purple, piggy eyes furiously glaring out of the page. Luna and Ginny arm in arm _leering_ out of the page, their expressions both teasing and mischievous. Sirius and Kayleigh's last stand in the Ministry Atrium, lights flashing around them, Kayleigh armed with a spiked mace, Sirius with a rapier from his father's room – he had been very good at fencing apparently – wands clutched tightly in their other hands as they went head on against the Death Eater's Inner Circle during the Final Battle.

Lastly was a picture of them. Of Dean, Professor Sprout, Cedric Diggory, his parents and of Natalie. All of them pale and insubstantial – ghostly.

Shikamaru ignored the sharp wrenching of his heart and closed the book.

-

He refrained from saying '_I Told You So_'.

But it was oh-so very tempting.

Haruhi merely glared at him and told him to move his ass and help her with the shopping.

-

While Haruhi was kidnapped to test out the Ootori Secret members Health-spar pool thingy – Shikamaru wasn't listening as Kyouya attempted to explain it and drag him along as well – a certain Boy-Who-Lived-To-Have-His-Name-Hypohonated-Far-Too-Many-Times-With-Too-Many-Inane-Titles found himself having to go into the ATOC Division to look over several files and train some more operatives in various spells and receive training in return.

The Japanese equivalent of the Aurors – which were known as Shinobi, which in his opinion was just pushing the envelope of clichés, but at least they weren't called _Samurai_ or anything like that – were very skilled, but they tended to focus more on using Magic to boost their physical abilities, super speed, strength, levitation charms coupled with wind manipulation birthing the legends that Japanese heroes and ninja could actually fly. They practiced traditional forms of magic, exorcism and rituals mainly, the spirit population of Japan and the far East was unusually large and unlike the Ghosts and Poltergeists of Europe, much nastier. But their Elemental Manipulation was by far the best anywhere in the world, their skill at forming fireballs, lightning bolts, even ice pillars and spikes of earth were fantastic, all within the flicker of an eye.

As such, they didn't have much in the way of defensive and offensive spell work; Shikamaru was coaching them through some of the nastier aspects of it, because eventually they would be going up against Death Eaters and other individuals of a similar kidney. Professional Duellers who knew whole armouries of unpleasant spells with nasty affects. The one advantage the Japanese had over that was that most Traditional Magical fighters had insanely poor physical abilities.

Harry and the rest of '_Dumbledore's Army_' were the exception as Hermione discovered a link between physical health improving magical health and instantly everyone in the DA started working out.

One of the people he was working with Ayanaga Kenichi, a former street-rat who also happened to be a Parselmouth with a fetish for blowing things up, suggested that he learned Martial Arts, something which he had been considering for a while but never got around to learning. Already the heterochromatic eyed Shinobi was teaching him a few moves, usually very nasty below the belt Wolf Tactics – get in, cause as much damage as possible, get out – but he was no traditional Martial Artist, everything he knew he picked up on the streets and through experience. Shikamaru was better off learning from a professional.

Which was how he ended up joining a Martial Arts dojo owned and run by the Haninozuka family.

Which was where he met Hani-senpai's younger brother Haninozuka Yasuchika and Morinozuka Satoshi, Mori-senpai's younger brother.

Funny how he ended up befriending the two of them before their older brothers.

Not quite as amusing was how Haruhi managed to convince the Hosts to take Shikamaru with them on a Summer Vacation trip to the Ocean on the grounds that her father would be out of town and _someone_ needed to make sure he didn't work himself to death.

Which prompted Shika having to explain to Ootori and Suou just why he was employed while he was a school student, all of which basically boiled down to: "_I can't access my money until I'm of age. I need to put food on the table somehow._"

Which was how he ended up sitting on the beach wearing a baggy T-shirt over his dark green swim shorts and sketching beside a rather exasperated Haruhi who was eyeing the antics of the Hosts around her with two parts annoyance, one part amusement and one part exasperation.

Of course they turned the vacation into a business opportunity, did she really expect anything less of Ootori?

Haruhi sighed and glanced over to him, "Thanks for coming with me."

He shrugged a shoulder, "I needed to speak with Nekozawa-san anyway. He has some property in the Caribbean my boss would like to borrow for a little while. They've used it before in the past with permission, she's hoping that Nekozawa-san will be as accommodating again." He explained drawing out one of the Merfolk he remembered from the Triwizard Tournament, only substituting some of their features with characteristics of various tropical fish he'd seen in pet-shops. The affect was strikingly exotic and he considered framing it and putting it up on the wall of his room briefly before deciding against it.

"Still. I needed someone sane to talk to. Kyouya-senpai doesn't count. He's evil." She declared absently waving a hand, Shikamaru smirked and cast her a sideways glance, green eyes glinting with amusement – free from his glasses for the day as he'd put in contacts – his pencil pausing on the paper.

"I think we've been hanging around too much Haruhi. You're starting to sound like me." He teased her seriously; the girl blinked at him and chuckled slightly before one of the customers splashed water at her to get some attention, Shika moving slightly to protect his precious sketchbook before chuckling and getting to his feet, leaving Haruhi with her customers.

Settling further back on the hot sand the dark haired teenager found a few of the quieter girls clustering around him, he shifted uncomfortably but spoke to them politely enough, recognising a few from his class. One of them even asked if she could borrow a piece of paper and pencil so she could do some drawing of her own, something he was only to happy to provide, if she was drawing, she would be quiet.

Shikamaru could only chuckle when he heard Tamaki screeching in horror as Nekozawa played his tricks again, Hitsugaya-sama had told him about Nekozawa Umehito's _unique_ sense of humour. He had to admit he liked it; the skeletons littered across the beach were an amusing touch.

A few of the girls around him giggled slightly as the Hosts yet again pawed Haruhi, this time with seafood and oddly enough a watermelon. He merely shook his head and started a new drawing, ignoring how the girls who had clustered around Tamaki ran screaming over a centipede that was promptly tossed into the bushes by a certain female Host.

Looking back, he probably should have paid more attention to his surroundings.

The twins' idea of fun had been proven time and again as: **Bad road**. Yet they still managed to drag everyone into the insanity they created.

It only proved to irritate him further when he somehow found himself dragged into the chaos as _well_.

He wasn't even a Host!

Why did he have to suffer as well?!

Really, all the Hosts managed to figure out was that both he _**and**_ Haruhi were exceptionally difficult to scare through normal means. Really? Heights, small spaces, the dark, though Mori-senpai with the harpoon was cause for more amusement than fear. Luckily the twins had the good sense _not_ to play on his Aphephobia, if they did, Shikamaru would have _had_ to have broken them for it.

The dark haired teenager sighed as he packed away his sketchbook and supplies into his backpack, it was nearing sunset and he supposed they would soon be joining Nekozawa-san at his mansion, he would approach him about the ATOC using his Caribbean property for surveillance and flooing in and out of the country – Portkey wards around the island redirected everyone to the Magical Transportation office where the criminals in question had several members of Staff _Imperio_'d.

A scream had his attention snapping up to see Haruhi in a fight with several local boys.

Green eyes went wide and the dark haired teenager bolted several hairs behind Tamaki as the French-man was closer and used his longer legs to eat up the distance. Shika watched as the blonde flung himself off the edge after Haruhi and decided they would be alright.

The bastards however, were not as he descended upon them, knife-edged smirk of malicious glee etching across his lips.

And people wondered how badly the Death Eaters had damaged him.

-

After having Mori and Hani manage to stop him from causing any permanent harm to the individuals in question, the twins giving him looks of hero-worship, Kyouya eyeing him as one would a dog who had been kicked a few too many times and decided to start biting back, and the two Seniors keep close at hand to make sure he didn't go back and finish what he started.

He had no intention of doing so.

He already had their faces and with a swift Legilimency probe, he knew their intentions, their names and other crimes they had committed. He would sketch them out tonight and visit the local police station in the morning to have them arrested. As of right now, he was eyeing a sodden Haruhi being held bridal style by Tamaki.

He sighed and glowered at her, "Next time you go and do something that kind of stupid Haruhi, I'm going to kick your ass to the moon and back. Got it?" Shikamaru told her flatly as he knocked the back of his hand against her head before smiling, "But I'm glad you're alright."

The next twenty minutes were a bit of a blur of Tamaki berating Haruhi, her completely misunderstanding the situation and pissing everyone off, Shikamaru gave up trying to talk some sense into her knowing that it would just make him a hypocrite after all the shit he pulled over the years. But still, Haruhi had a point, Tamaki was only getting upset because she was a girl, something which actually pissed Shikamaru off, he kept quiet though – he was just glad neither Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Fleur or Tonks were around to hear him say that, guaranteed they would be picking the blonde up in pieces when they were finished – as Haruhi needed someone to knock some sense into her. Merlin knew he needed it more than once over the years.

The night they spent with Nekozawa-san was... strained, to say the least.

They ate seafood – which was actually rather amusing when Haruhi used the knife trick he taught her against Tamaki trying to steal her crab – played boardgames, Haruhi got into another argument with Tamaki who then left, not long after everyone finally managed to talk some sense into Haruhi and _explain _why they got so upset with her, Shikamaru had to shake his head and then give her a noogie, she didn't even realised how much of a worry she caused, of course then she had to run off or risk throwing up over Nekozawa's carpets. Speaking of which.

The Senior had been more than happy to allow the ATOC to use his Caribbean Mansion and even went as far as winking at Shikamaru and telling him his secret was safe. Which only made him alternatively pale and then blush. Apparently even the magical community in _Japan_ knew of him. Though considering how Nekozawa had not been wearing his protective apparel at the time it wasn't all too inconsiderable that he may have been from Beauxbatons or some such. Then he ended up spending the rest of the evening defending the blonde form the twins, Kyouya and Hani-senpai's constant probing questions and grabby hands.

When he finally got to his room he wrestled with the desire to bang his head against the wall or scream into his pillow.

The latter won out – luckily the thunderstorm outside drowned it out.

The dark haired teenager stepped out onto the balcony, absently hoping that Hedwig wasn't somewhere out in this, he'd left the apartment window open enough for her to get in and out but he wouldn't put it past her to follow him here even though he told her where he was going and when he'd be back. Honestly it was like having a mother or a girlfriend in feathered form.

The next day dawned and oddly enough, after he had returned from his little trip to the Police Station, Shika was treated to the twins – of all people – telling tales on Tamaki to him, about blindfolding Haruhi in some kind of S and M game.

All he could do was blink, shrug and say, "If its consenting, I don't give a damn what they do behind closed doors." Which sent the twins in to fits of spluttering, Hani into wide eyed staring, Mori... Mori just did whatever it was that Mori actually did while Kyouya just sighed and shook his head for some reason, looking _sad_ of all things.

Once back at home in his apartment, the dark haired teen could only flop back onto his Futon with a heartfelt groan, Hedwig fluttering down beside him clamouring for attention.

All he could think was: '_Note to self, don't get involved with the Hosts. It's _exhausting.'

-

**Fin.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Black Birds**

-

Shikamaru sighed as he gently affixed the shrunken files to Hedwig's leg, the snowy Owl was trying to keep as still as possible but she was practically vibrating with excitement. It had been a _long_ time since she had last made a delivery flight and she was looking forward to the chance again.

"Take care Hedwig." He told her softly, giving her chest an extra stroke as she hooted proudly before he flung his arm out, launching her into the air and out over the Ouran Campus.

It was just after school and he was sat in the grounds doing his paper-work concerning several key members of the Death Eaters for Hitsugaya-taicho, it had taken a while and copious use of a Pensieve as well as a swift sneaky trip back to England over the weekend during which he slipped into the Ministry and copied several important files for her viewing pleasure.

Needless to say, Shikamaru discovered some things even he didn't know, which was of great use. He was a great expert on Voldemort himself, Duelling Styles and personal tastes of each Death Eater but it was little things in their pasts that linked it all together. Knowing everything about them was extremely important if they ever broke out; it would give him an advantage over them that they didn't have over him.

Only three people know enough about him to really be a threat, Voldemort – he was dead – Lucius Malfoy – Shikamaru wasn't going to give that sick fuck another chance to Mind-rape him, he was knifing the bastard first chance he got – and Dumbledore, who Shikamaru had no intention of _ever_ seeing _ever_ again in his life. _**EVER**_. In case the first two 'ever's didn't get his point across.

Sighing deeply the dark haired teenager absently wondered if he should just head home, Art Club had been cancelled because Haku-chan was going away for the weekend to visit her Fiancé and her younger sister Sakura, who was also in the club, had decided to go with her. Leaving them two women down and only three members left not including Shikamaru himself, they decided to call this week a vacation and an opportunity to do some free-style art in and around the community. So basically a chance to fuck around and do what they liked, excuse his language.

Really, the only reason he hadn't gone into Work was because Haruno-san was kicking up a fuss about how an underage brat shouldn't be part of the department. There would be arguments, Kenichi-kun would pull his knives, there would be blood, Zaraki-kun would get involved along with Fae-sama and he didn't even want to think about what would happen if their arguing set off Aiden-san. There was a reason why they tended to only keep him on desk-duty while he was one of their best fighters, he was extremely unstable mentally, prone to snapping and having sociopathic fits. Kenichi and Fae-sama were the only ones capable of calming him down, both through different means, personally, Shika thought that sometimes Aiden-san faked those fits just to have Kenichi-kun calm him down.

After all, having someone's tongue stuck down your throat was a lot more pleasurable than getting punched in the gut.

Either way.

He didn't want to listen to Haruno Isao-san bitching like a little girl with her favourite doll taken away just because there happened to be a decade or three separating their personal ages. And there was really nothing to do for him at home, tomorrow was his Martial Arts practice with Yasuchika-san and Satoshi-kun would no doubt attempt to give him some Kendo tips when he stayed after as he usually did. Apparently when Shika accidentally mentioned he inherited a sword he caught Satoshi-kun's attention who then decided he needed to learn how to wield said sword properly. He wasn't complaining. He needed to learn every possible way of defending himself against the Death Eaters and others of their ilk.

Never the less, he was somewhat confused to see Haruhi practically being manhandled by a woman in drag towards the school buildings, a bemused frown settled over Shikamaru's features. He had made a point of memorising each face – but not their names – that attended the school as either student, faculty, security, medical staff, cleaners, cooks or delivery men/women. It was a monumental task but not one he regretted, he had become paranoid during the war but as Mad Eye once told him, it wasn't paranoia if they were really out to get you. As such, he needed to know who was allowed and who wasn't at this place, and that woman was certainly not a student or a member of staff.

Green eyes narrowed and the dark haired teen left the roof-top volley-ball court, snatching up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder as he sprinted down the stairs at dangerous speeds for anyone who wasn't a Quidditch Player or just that comfortable with the thought of breaking their necks.

He didn't bother knocking as he slammed into the Host Club room, moving just fast enough to catch the cross-dresser's wrist a split second before she hit Tamaki-san with it.

He ignored the sharp intakes of breath from those present and merely glared at her, "Miss, _never_ strike another student within these walls." He seethed, narrowed green eyes locked onto her own startled orbs, "Also, if you would kindly release Haruhi-kun and leave the Ouran premises? You are not a student here and I sincerely doubt whether you have approved your '_visit_' with the administration or indeed the School's Security Detail."

When the three girls did nothing more than stare dumbly at him he calmly released the cross-dresser's wrist and gestured Haruhi over to him, the brunette swiftly slipping out from around the girls and behind him to where Tamaki and the other Hosts were watching.

The shortest of them looked to the crossdresser, "Rose-oneesama..." She whispered, shooting sidelong glances at Shikamaru – bringing a confused frown to his features.

"Aa Daisy-chan. I see it." The short haired woman told the younger girl, Shikamaru had perhaps a split second to recognise the look in her eyes before he promptly found himself being smothered. The three girls gushing about how cute and adorable '_she_' was.

Shikamaru didn't even have a chance to feel indignant over the fact that had mistaken his gender but not Haruhi's – he did not look like a girl _DAMNIT_ – as he stiffened almost immediately as the three girls practically pawed him, every touch, brush of skin or clothing sending a sensation of cold burning _filth_ clinging to his skin. The dark haired teenager curled in on himself, his features bleaching bone white.

"Wait, you have to let him go! Let him –"

This time, Shika couldn't stop '_Rose-oneesama_' from hitting the blonde Frenchman as he concentrated not on breaking down into a panic attack, the declarations and comments from the three girls completely washing over and missing his brain as his chest tightened. He couldn't breathe. It was too hot. His vision began to spin as his skin crawled and itched and burned with the girls pressed against him.

A hand snagged his wrist as the girls abruptly released him to whip off their disguises, Shikamaru found himself staggering into Satoshi-kun's older brother as Mori-senpai dragged him out from the crowd of girls and carefully set him down on the near-by sofa. Shikamaru didn't really notice all that much with his eyes screwed shut tight as he rubbed against his arms and face, everywhere that those girls had touched him, trying to rid himself of the burning that prickled across his skin, he didn't notice the Hosts moving away to change out of their armour or the Lobelia girls continuing to wax poetic about how great women were and how men were pigs.

He just couldn't get that prickling burning sensation to leave his skin!

The next few minutes passed by quickly as Shika forced himself to calm down, he really needed to sort out this stupid phobia! He already had difficulties in Martial Arts because of it, he'd actually broken someone's nose when they'd pinned him and he'd freaked out, pulling several muscles to move in a fashion that technically wasn't physically possible for a human being to achieve and throw him off.

The dark haired teen helped himself to a still warm cup of tea while the Hosts dug themselves into a pit with their only female member concerning a few home truths, he shook his head at the idiocy of both the Hosts and the Zuka ladies. Not only thinking they could get Haruhi to transfer but him as well? Not to mention disbelieving everything the Hosts told them about him being a guy, he just shook his head in irritation and finished his cup as the girls bid both him and Haruhi sugary sweet goodbyes which only received a middle finger salute from the darker haired of the pair as the door slammed shut.

Not for the first time he regretted not pushing Hitsugaya-taicho about attending the near-by Ouron Public Boys' School.

Really, these rich bastards...

"I think I'll call it a day here too. Shika c'mon." Haruhi called flatly, obviously _extremely_ irritated with the Hosts, the dark haired teen got to his feet, calmly setting his now empty cup aside and picking his bag up.

"_Syaonara minnasan._" He intoned bowing to them as he reached the doors where Haruhi was waiting, "And thank you Morinozuka-senpai." He added before following her outside, ignoring the somewhat startled look on the Senior's face.

After all, how could Shikamaru know who pulled him out when his eyes were closed at the time?

-

After returning with Haruhi from the Maratomi Mart Shikamaru called up Fae-sama and asked her if she knew a good Therapist who could keep his mouth shut and help him with some pretty nasty shit.

The half-veela gave him the number of Murakami Orihime, a Mind Healer who worked in connection with their Special Victims Unit.

He scheduled his first meeting with her on the next Saturday afternoon.

-

The next evening, he gave Yasuchika a phonecall and begged off practice as something had cropped up at work, the younger Haninozuka was surly about it – Shika got the impression that the younger teenager had grown a little fond of him but he didn't dare say it out loud, he had after all dislocated his arm once before in a sparring match – but let him off as long as he came in for an extra morning practice on the Saturday. Having made that agreement Shikamaru apparated straight to the nearest entry point to the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

Funnily enough, it was nothing like most would have expected from a Ministry older even than the majority of the European Governments.

The Nihonjin Mahou Sho- was in fact, completely modern.

They fronted themselves as an Office Building in connection with the Government, hence the extra Security that waved him through with familiarity and the occasional teasing jeer considering how he was still in his uniform.

Inside, the building was clean and very minimalist in design, decorated in blues, greens and whites there were bamboo plants, bonsai and greenery in almost every corner, the large secretary's desk had a beautiful floral arrangement in which Shikamaru spied a few magical variations of local flowers. The fact that they had freshly picked Cherry-blossom sprigs amidst iris flowers and other assorted flowers in late October just solidified that.

"_Konnichiwa _Ino-san." He greeted passing the dark haired secretary who smiled brightly and returned his greeting before unlocking the entry door to the lifts for him. Everyone had to by pass her and only her Magical signature and several other members of Security could unlock the lift-doors, preventing terrorists, magical yakuza or even overly courageous/stupid muggles from getting to the upper-levels.

The lifts were simple wooden panelled boxes like any other muggle elevator and even played classic lift music that alternatively made him want to laugh or curse something.

As it was, today it just made him smirk slightly as he stepped off into the Defence Division, greeting a few of the trainees who waved to him at sight of '_Akegata-sensei_'. Lately there had been a significant drop in situations that required more than your average Magical Police Force, MPF for short as they weren't important enough to get cool nicknames according to Kenichi-kun, so Shikamaru had been spending the required training hours Duelling and fighting with the trainees and other senior staff members, occasionally giving crash courses and teaching them different little charms and spells that could be useful in tight spots – _Levicorpus_ had become a favourite amongst the trainees while the older members seemed to have a morbid delight in over powering Paint Stripping charms to peel skin from flesh.

The first person he met was Kinkaze Fae.

Fae-sama was an unusual woman, regardless of the fact she was half Veela she actually looked very little like Fleur or even anything like a traditional Veela, she was just too... _gold_. She stood at an impressive 5'11" in height, her hair was a rich wheat blonde colour and hung to her waist in a wavy curtain, her skin was a pale caramel that was splattered with freckles here and there, her eyes were a bright warm amber that reminded Shika of Remus on days close to the full moon, her features were distinctly impish and even her ears were slightly pointed baring blue stoned drop earrings. She wore a simple, yet smart blue suit jacket and pencil skirt with a rich blood red silk blouse giving a glimpse of caramel skin and a simple blue stone pendant around her throat, she wore black heavy combat boots instead of high heels.

"Fae-sama, _Konnichiwa_. How are you?" He asked falling into step with the golden eyed woman.

"I am well." She intoned, her voice husky yet also curiously flat and icy. Fae was all business all of the time, until her girlfriend popped over and started trying to set explosives wherever she could, at which point those near-by were privileged to see the Veela either start to laugh or scold her girlfriend who just stood there grinning like an idiot before dragging her into the nearest closet. Numerous attempts had been made at recording what went on in those closets; none had survived without extreme mental trauma after Fae got her hands on them.

"Thank you for the information you gathered from your home country Akegata-san. It was quite the risk and you have my respect for taking the assignment regardless." She finally said looking at the green eyed teen who paused and eyed her seriously, he had been careful to cover every trace of his return to England but then again, he really shouldn't underestimate these people, they'd been trained to be faster, smarter, stronger and a hell of a lot more stealthy than he had.

He merely snorted and smirked at her, "Teach me that little stealth trick of yours and we'll call it even." He challenged, watching as a similar smirk curled at the corners of her own lips.

"Agreed. Heads up." She warned, a split second before a blur tackled into Shikamaru.

It was only the familiar Magical Aura that washed over him that prevented the black haired teen from freaking out like he had yesterday with those Lobelia girls, never the less he did seize up and recoil.

"Kenichi get the hell of me." He rasped desperately from under the 26-year-old.

"N'aww, you're no fun." The afore mentioned youth grumbled but never the less got to his feet, dragging Shika up along with him.

Ayanaga Kenichi was a strange individual, he was born into an unhappy home with an alcoholic dad and an abusive mother – his dad had already half rotted his brain with alcohol so there was little he could do about his wife's cruel behaviour – he got himself involved with gangs and crime from an early age. His magic manifested early too and he even managed to learn how to control it to some degree, using Parseltongue incantations instead of a wand or magical runes. Somehow he ended up falling in with the right people and joined up with the ATOC under Hitsugaya Kaede – most speculate that it was Aiden Kai who managed to talk him into it but its just speculation – and he had proven himself to be an invaluable asset thus far.

He stood at 5'6" in height with dark chocolate brown hair, it had previously been in a mullet and was now growing out meaning that his hair was an absolute mess of mismatched lengths and curls and spiky parts everywhere, his skin was pale and riddled with scarring under his clothes. However, the thing that stood out the most about him was the simple fact his eyes were two different colours, his left being a clear slightly hypnotic blue and the other a murky dark green with a scar patterning the side of it. Kenichi generally wore whatever he found kicking around, this time being a black shirt, black pants, black boots and a pair of red gloves.

The three of them continued on into the department which looked somewhat similar to a normal police department anywhere in the world to the casual observer, it was only when they noticed people sticking their hands up to their armpits into desk-draws, snatching paper planes from midair, a coffee machine that actually made good coffee, the assortments of Foe-glasses, Sneak-o-scopes and other Auror-like paraphernalia would be a sure fire give away that this office didn't cater to normal police types.

"Anyway, why am I here?" He asked in bemusement as his two older co-workers tugged him into one of the meeting rooms where everyone was waiting.

Aiden Kai, 29, 6'2", long black hair with a single white streak, green eyes, pale skin, dressed in an impeccable black suit, coffee cup in hand lounging in his usual seat, feet up on the table.

Honda Zaraki, 34, 6'4", brown dreadlocks to his shoulders, heavily scarred, piercings everywhere, werewolf, amber eyes, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt, his green tie undone (he wasn't one for suits and the like) slumped heavily in his seat.

Setaccio Sarah, 22, 5'4", brunette, blue eyed, Italian, scarily intelligent – just like her twin brother, leggy wearing a skirt suit similar to Fae's only in white and dark blue with black stockings and high-heels sat primly with her legs crossed at the thighs, smoothing her skirt over her knees as best she could and offering him a smile of greeting.

Setaccio Rahkesh,22, 6'1", brunet, blue eyed, Italian, Sarah's twin brother, also leggy, wore a blue turtleneck and a pair of black suit pants and combat boots slumped across the table with his hands curled up under him hiding his face in his forearms sat on the other side of his sister looking as though he had fallen asleep.

Haruno Isao, 46, 5'8", black hair, grey eyes, unpleasant disposition, thought he had seen it all – ha, he was the one who threw up in a pensieve memory of a Death Eater revel – and thought Shikamaru had no place in their department.

Morrigan Raven, 26, 5'4", black hair, green eyes, pale skin, actually he looked a _lot_ like Shikamaru, only much more friendly and a hell of a lot more shameless, he also had a thing for pointy objects and sticking them in people. He was... kind of crazy but it was to be expected, he had been caught up in Magical Yakuza gang-wars, his twin brother, his mother and father and his younger sister had all been killed, he was allowed to be a bit mental in Shikamaru's opinion. He was far from the only unstable person at the table in any case.

Sakurazaki Akira, 6'1", brown hair, amber-black eyes, tanned skin, the only Vampyre on staff and considering how he was slated to become the next head of the Sakurazaki Coven it was a damn good thing he was on their side. Akira was known for being exceptionally ruthless in combat and considering the fact that Vampyres continued to grow more powerful as they got older, and Akira's age was largely unknown, they didn't want to get on his bad side.

And lastly, his boss. Hitsugaya Kaede, 5'5" in height, short cropped black hair, black eyes, pale skin, her daughter's square jaw and slanted eyes, her hands and shoulders too. They both looked like the kind of women you didn't want to cross and it was true, you really _didn't_ want to cross them.

"The surveillance we had running through Nekozawa's Caribbean Mansion has paid off." The dark haired Department Head declared, a blood-thirsty grin written across her features. "Last night, our spies reported a meeting being scheduled for tomorrow night, all the Chapter Heads and their second in commands are to be present at the Fuyaguma Estate!" She told them, slapping down several files onto the table, "Better yet." She continued, her voice lowering as if sharing some kind of secret joke with them.

"They're even letting down their wards for the night."

All those present in the meeting room simultaneously broke out into extremely unpleasant grins.

-


	6. Chapter 6

**Black Birds**

-

Haruhi blinked, peering at her friend from under the brim of her Little Witch's Hat.

Brown eyes took in the flat look on the teenager's face, but also noted the faint glimmer of amusement in green eyes and she cracked a smile before giggling at him.

The teenager shrugged a shoulder, "Ritsu-kun made this especially for me for Halloween. I couldn't refuse to wear it." He admitted before blushing faintly, "Besides... I kinda like it. It's cool." He admitted, somewhat shamefaced to say it out loud. Haruhi only laughed harder, she'd heard of Kasanoda Ritsu, even seen him visiting her friend once in a while, mostly Hedwig would launch herself at him and then rarely unglue herself from his shoulder, Shika merely smiled and brushed it off as if he knew the reason for his owl's preference to the red-headed Yakuza child over him.

"You look great." She assured him with a laugh.

When Ritsu-kun had bounded over to him like an excited puppy that morning, clumsy yet painstakingly hand stitched garments outstretched in his hands, brown eyes pleading with startled green... Shikamaru couldn't say no. Not when his friend had put so much effort into it, he knew Ritsu-kun was lonely, it was painfully obvious in the way he acted and held himself, people shied away from him, feared him, Shika didn't really see why, he wasn't bad looking, true he had one hell of a glare, but no scarier than Sirius or Snape when they were angry and no where near as scary as Ginny or Hermione or even worse _Luna_ when they were angry.

So he took the carefully folded clothing and followed him to the bathroom to get changed.

That had been two hours ago and Shika had briefly left Ritsu to look for Haruhi, he had forgotten to tell her that he wouldn't be able to make it for dinner tonight because of work – and gods didn't that sound just so damn _domestic_ it made his stomach turn.

Still. When he'd shown up she'd taken one look at him and declared she liked his costume better than the twins', which spawned his embarrassed explanation. And he really did like it. Ritsu-kun must have spent weeks on it at _least_. It... It made him feel warm as soppy as it sounded, to know that the Yakuza-Heir valued their friendship enough to spend so long to give him wings to fly.

He was dressed as an angel.

He looked more like a mix of the European Seraphim and a manga-styled angel.

His hair was loose, white feathers and beads braided into his now wild hair, set onto his back was a set of large white feather wings that Ritsu had glued together over a wire frame himself. He wore an odd mixture of armour, old leather, silk and chiffon as his clothing, he was covered for the most part but the occasional scar was visible, his top was made of a mix between chiffon and silk, it went up his left arm and fell to his wrist leaving his right arm and shoulder bare for the armoured shoulder guard, leather belts wrapped across his torso to hold his wings in place with thin pale blue floaty chiffon floating lightly over his stomach which was only glimpsed between his top and the pair of cream leggings tucked into a pair of knee high white lace-up boots – these being store bought, belts and chains wrapped around his waist and thighs shifting every time he moved.

Needless to say, as much as Shikamaru _liked_ the outfit – it was probably something about the wings – he _did_ feel uncomfortable about the measuring looks he received from the rest of the student population. Haruhi just laughed when he twitched as some of her classmates gave him a once over.

"You want to come with me and Renge-chan to carve some pumpkins?" She offered, Shika tilted his head and smiled – producing a few squeals and '_kyaaah_'s from the girls milling around – before shrugging a shoulder.

"Sure. Do you mind if I bring a friend too?"

"Go for it. The more the merrier." She wisely didn't say that the more people there the easier it would be to avoid some of the things the twins would attempt to drag her into against her will. They wouldn't dare half the stuff they usually did when Shikamaru was around, apparently, he scared them.

Which was how Kasanoda wound up officially meeting the young girl for the first time, black cowl, scythe, bone mask and all. The Yakuza-heir was dressed as a very convincing Grim Reaper, which made for some odd looks when he was stood beside the smaller Angel that was Shikamaru, the two of them snarking at each other and laughing as they handled knives with... a disturbing ease.

Every once in a while Haruhi noticed Shikamaru shooting the twins a frown before shrugging a shoulder and carrying on with scooping out his pumpkin, listening to his Grim Reaper friend chattering away like an excited puppy a smile on his lips. Pausing only long enough to give Kaoru an acid glare for mocking Haruhi's attempts to draw a face on her lantern, her worst subject may have been art but he still shouldn't be laughing.

The dark haired teen shook his head, wrinkling his nose slightly as the feathers in his hair tickled against his face.

Whatever the twins were plotting it didn't seem malicious. He would let them off this time.

-

Morinozuka Takashi repressed a sigh as yet again his cousin's antics had girls swarming over them, true he didn't mind it, but why on earth did Mitsukuni dress him as a puppy?

Takashi merely sat down, holding his face completely blank as the girls all cooed and patted and stroked at his costume, marvelling at the realistically textured fake fur – both Takashi and Mitsukuni had recoiled at the thought of a real fur costume – and he did take a moment of guilty pleasure to enjoy the girls' in their costumes, well they were cute and there was nothing wrong with looking at a pretty girl in a vaguely revealing outfit now was there?(1)

He watched with a small hidden smile as his cousin bounced off him and fluttered over to their 'Princess' squealing trick or treat, as if he hadn't consumed enough sugar to put even the twins into comas.

The canine-clad Host took a brief moment to study the kitchen, repressing a smile at the cookie-dough trays that were still lumpy and poorly rolled out – knowing them to belong to the girls currently cooing over him, well, they'd done better than Satoshi the first time he made a foray into cooking, Takashi repressed a shudder of horror at the memory of that nightmare – Haruhi-chan's cookies cooling on a tray not too far from her, a Tupperware box filled with pumpkin pie she would no doubt take home to share with her father. Kyouya chatting to her quietly, no doubt telling her about the Halloween Ball later that night and requesting her to join them as part of their club activities.

"Ah, Akegata-san. I must admit I'm surprised to see you here." Kyouya abruptly greeted someone else in surprise as Haruhi turned away to deal with Mitsukuni, grabbing the attention of someone on the other side of the room as well as the tall Senior, Mori turned and blinked at the odd sight in front of them.

It was the boy who lived next to Haruhi-san dressed as an Angel stood beside someone dressed as the Grim Reaper, both of them laughing and flicking pumpkin pulp at one another, the Angel turned to look at Kyouya in surprise and offered him a small nod of greeting and a slight smile before blinking as a small glob of pumpkin hit his cheek, he wiped it off and turned to glare playfully at the Grim Reaper.

Takashi stared at the Angel, taking in the large white wings that looked oddly at home on his back, the belts and chains that encased his waist and thighs, nimble fingers that shot bits of pumpkin at the Grim Reaper, wild black hair, snow white skin, bright green eyes, the occasional glimpse of scarring.

Mori was prevented from any further study of the teenager when he heard Mitsukuni make that odd sound of shocked disgust in the back of his throat.

"WAAAAH TOO SALTY!! LIKE SALT!!" The dark haired eighteen year old didn't even flinch as his cousin bolted into his arms, whimpering at the bad taste in his mouth. Pandemonium broke out when Hikaru slashed at his hand with a carving knife and everyone started panicking; Kaoru still flailing around in his Pumpkin, the girls crying out and shrieking, Hikaru refusing to go to the infirmary while Haruhi tried to pull him up.

And right under the tap.

Takashi shook his head, typical Hitachiin mischief, a glance from the corner of his eye confirmed that the Angel had already figured out what was going on and merely rolled his eyes before flicking some more pumpkin at the Grim Reaper who squeaked and tried to use his plastic scythe to defend himself.

He resolutely didn't notice the way that whenever the Angel moved his distinctly floaty top would shift revealing pale soft flesh, the small bird like hands with delicate fingers flicking bits of orange pulp, a slender petite body, or the pale pink ropy scars that were etched into the skin of his hips and just visible on his spine.

He was too busy watching as Hikaru panicked and Haruhi bolted out of the room hunting down Kaoru.

Ok. Maybe he looked a little.

-

Stripping out of his Halloween costume, the dark haired teenager carefully shrunk it and placed it into his work locker, around him the other male members of their unit were changing into their black stealth gear. Talking was sparse, as was groping in the case of those who's interests ran to those of the same gender, something which Shikamaru could only be thankful for as he had been on the receiving end of a few – before he started demonstrating the Castration Curse a few days ago.

Needless to say, none of the guys were too interested in getting grabby with someone who could neuter them with a flick of his wrist.

"You ready for this Shika?" Kenichi asked from beside him, the other Parselmouth was one of the few people in the department who knew who he truly was aside from Fae-sama, Rahkesh and Raven. "Its not going to be like the raids you went on against the Death Eaters, we're looking to subdue not kill." He reminded the damaged teenager knowing that his instincts were dialled to kill and not capture on reflex. With Death Eaters, you couldn't afford to take them prisoner, you _HAD_ to kill them, or risk death, torture, and all other means of nastiness. Kenichi had seen memories of Order members killing themselves in suicidal attacks rather than risk letting the Death Eaters take them prisoner, it chilled him to the core but he couldn't help but find some respect for those guys who died taking out as many of the mother fuckers as they could.

"I'll be fine." The shorter teenager stated, "I'll try to hold off on lethal retaliation as much as I can but... well better them than any of us." He stated simply.

Kenichi sighed but knew better than to push as he finished strapping on the last of his equipment.

They were clad in dark washed out clothing, better designed to help them blend in with the darkness, they looked a _little_ like the classic ninja from Dudley's stupid old films, soft soled shoes, loose edges to clothing bound out of the way with strips of cloth, revealing hair and skin hidden away with other strips of cloth, black makeup to hide the skin that the cloth couldn't. Feather-light and Silencing charmed mesh armour hidden under black kitsune leather(2) topped with Acromantula silk, it was light weight, durable and it didn't impede their flexibility or movement. Shika had to hand it to their tech department; they certainly knew what they were doing.

As it was, it was next to impossible to tell who everyone was when they were dressed like this; it was only because Ron had taught him to recognise Magical Auras that Shika knew who was who.

Fae gestured them to the Floo Channels, when she spoke, her voice was distorted through a multitude of obscuring and glamour charms, giving her voice a flat curiously androgynous sound to it. "Alright team, when we hit Nekozawa-san's mansion we will be splitting into three groups, one group will be Back-up and escort, you'll be in charge of gathering up and transporting the prisoners and gathering what pertinent information that may be too dangerous for other departments to handle, this is down to your own discretion so make sure to check each other's work. Second Group will go in through the front and begin the assault; you'll be subduing and securing the prisoners. Third Group will be in charge of sealing every exit, checking for booby-traps and giving the Assault Team the all Clear to begin. We take as many of them alive as possible and try to keep the property damage to a minimum." The golden eyed woman declared, taking out a Floo-pellet and tossing it into the fire, the flames burning a dark green signifying the International Floo connection had been made.

Stepping into the flames the golden eyed woman barked out, "Nekozawa-sama's Caribbean Retreat mansion." Before vanishing in a swirl of dark green. Steadily the group all followed her into the flames, barking out the same destination and vanishing.

Shika took a deep breath, that familiar rush of adrenaline surging through his body, making him tremble slightly, his fingers hot as his blood raced through his body and his senses became hyper aware. His ears catching the steady panting breaths of Zaraki behind him, the way he smelt of dogs and old meat and motor-oil, of Sarah's perfume that lingered in the air, the way the sulphur from the floo burnt the back of his throat, the metal against his body warming and shifting – pressing cold metal against his skin, the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears as he stepped into the flames.

"Nekozawa-sama's Caribbean Retreat mansion." He called out, tucking his elbows in tightly and vanishing in a nauseatingly swift tornado of green flame. Shika hated floo. He never liked it, he was far from graceful when it concerned Flooing, Portkeying or even Apparating, it was his magic, his magic was so closely connected with himself and with the world around him that the act of trying to wrench him from one place to another tore at that connection, making it much rougher than it should be. Meaning that when he stumbled out of the Floo he had to roll to avoid landing face first and injuring himself, fortunately it wasn't required this time as he found himself stumbling into Sarah's arms, her Magical Aura – so pure it had shocked him for the first few minutes he'd met her, apparently she and her brother were exposed to Dark Magic while their mother was pregnant, making them allergic to even the boarder line spells – washing over him soothingly as he pushed himself out of her arms and nodded thankfully before stepping aside to allow the other members of the unit to follow behind him.

"Alright." Fae spoke. "Assault Team, you'll be lead by Deer, I want Tiger and Bird with him. Recon team, I'll be leading you, I want Sword and Mizuno, Back-up team you'll be led by Bat, that's Falcon, Wolf and Bear. Everyone know what they're doing?" she asked as the three teams nodded their heads, ignoring the wide eyed stare of Nekozawa Umehito and his younger sister Nekozawa Kirimi from their positions in the hall, keeping the Floo connection open to their department for them.

Shika paused briefly on their way marching out to give the little girl a small wave and bowed to her brother before leading his team out.

The journey to the Fuyaguma mansion was short and sweet, the Caribbean islands were only so large and the majority of them – like this one – were hidden under strict wards, but tonight those wards had been relaxed around the estate of the largest Magical Drug and human trafficking Yakuza family. Privately, Shikamaru was looking forward to forward to dishing out some punishment on the evil bastards, half of those they kidnapped and shipped out into prostitution slavery were underage, more often than not, children as young as five or six stolen right from outside their schools or in their back gardens while playing.

Silently, he and the others sat themselves in the thick foliage of the gardens, magic channelled towards their eyes to watch the mansion through its open windows, to the suit clad individuals sat at their table eating expensive imported foods like pigs and laughing over their success. Hatred, dark and seething crawled up his throat and it took every scrap of will power he possessed not to order Kai and Raven in with him then and there. Instead he watched as Fae, Kenichi and Rahkesh slipped into the Mansion like wisps of smoke, their movements possessing a languid fluidity to it that bespoke a deadly grace that they weren't even bothering to attempt to conceal for once.

They certainly seemed more intimidating as they sprinted across the grass, hardly even a whisper of sound to signify their passing, the blades of grass hardly even being disturbed as light fluid feet slipped across them. It was like watching ghosts. Ghosts with every intention of killing you. Nothing at all like the crawling, stumbling gates of the Order Members as they made their own sneak attacks on Death Eater mansions after spending weeks making a small unnoticeable hole in their wards and selecting their moment to attack and torch everything and everyone inside at the right time.

He grinned darkly as Kenichi set about creating a Basket Ward over the building, it had been something that Hermione, Luna and Bill had been working on for ages after Professor Flitwick unfortunately met his end while Duelling with Voldemort. The little Charm's Master had managed to banish the Dark Lord from his body not moments before one of the Demons that Tom had summoned and empowered managed to butcher the little man.

A Basket Ward was a specifically designed Ward to let people _in_ but not _out_. It was keyed in to the caster's magical signature so only they and the signatures they'd keyed in were capable of taking the ward down. It prevented Apparation, Portkeys, Floo, it was layered so if people tried to walk out they would have to disarm one harmless spell followed by a lethal one followed by another lethal and then three harmless ones followed by another six lethal. All in all, about fifteen different layers of Wards with only one way out – Animagus forms. Luckily, Rahkesh was adding a secondary Anti-Animagus Ward over the property while Fae used a Block Eraser to prevent those inside from feeling the wards going up.

The wards were done.

Distantly, he saw Fae finish up placing the Basket Ward over the building while Kenichi crouched in the undergrowth of the gardens, Shika could hear him hissing to the Summoned Snakes he had conjured earlier in the week asking them for an update. Apparently there were eight hostages within the building, three hatchlings and four adolescents and an adult female. Hatchlings. Shika's blood _boiled_.

It was only Kai's hand on his shoulder that prevented the dark haired teen from throwing himself through a window and casting a Wide-Scale _Iaculatio Fulgoris_(3) and frying all the bastards where they sat.

Shika would probably be the first to admit his temper was dark and unpredictable. And more than likely dangerous.

He took a breath and sharpened his eyes yet again, shrugging Kai's arm off and making a few gestures with his hand, they would be heading in now, when Fae gave the signal they wouldn't give them a chance to arm themselves before the three of them would be right in the middle and knocking them out left and right.

Raven grabbed both him and Kai before falling backwards, magic wrapping around them as the Shadows wrapped up and around them lovingly. Shadow Gating was a gift that only a few ever managed, Raven being one of them despite being only a rookie he had enough skill to pass up to four people through the Darkness, anymore and there was a chance that someone would be lost in the darkness. Silently, the small group of three pulled themselves out of the shadows on the ceiling, sticking charms applied to hands and feet ensured they would remain out of sight until they chose to attack. Luckily no one was looking up as the three took up their positions on the ceiling, one in the middle, one up one side and the other down the other side.

The sky burned red under Fae's _Rubican Lumos_(4).

They dropped from the ceiling into the centre of chaos.

Shika grinned.

-

Two hours later in the Department Medical room, Sarah Setaccio shook her head as she forced another Potions phial down the throat of the only teenager in their Department. A scowl etched deeply into her pretty face as the boy started to scream and writhe; only her twin and her boyfriend's arms locked around him prevented him from doing more damage to himself.

"You got _very_ lucky Gaki." She told him sternly shaking her head as she wrapped his leg in tight bandages, pressing two splints up the joint. "Shattered bones are nothing to laugh at, you're just lucky that they didn't powder or break your joints, as it stands you only have joint _fractures_." She berated him as Rahkesh held the smaller teenager gently, running his fingers soothingly through the thicket of sweat matted black hair. "You're not to put any strain on them though! These potions take time to work, they're not a temporary fix, once they've finished healing they'll be just as strong as the rest of the bone, not prone to snapping in exactly the same way again as with those Healing Charms.(5)" She barked, narrowing blue eyes on him darkly, the silent threat she excluded hanging in the air.

Shika nodded from where he was leaning against Rahkesh, listening to her rant at him with half an ear, too Magically Exhausted to do much else beyond scowling briefly as she transfigured his tattered pants into a pair of tracksuit bottoms with poppers up the legs, as he couldn't bend his right leg it meant he couldn't get changed without help.

The fight had been a lot more difficult than they had anticipated, apparently there was a leak in the department, the Fuyaguma had been expecting them, it was only because Shikamaru was so _used_ to fights and ambushes that went wrong that he was able to keep the rest of them alive through some VERY quick thinking and spell casting. Needless to say he was exhausted, he hadn't Spell-Chained like that since the Ministry Battle months ago, and while he still kept in practice he wasn't as deadly as he once was. He would have to work on that.

The hostages were with their Special Victims unit, only one of them was an Orphan and three of them had magical potential, and... the oldest of the girls was a week pregnant. No doubt the result of rape. Shikamaru's blood burned.

"I'll drive you home." Kenichi declared from the other side of the room where Kai was checking him over for any injuries, at most the Serpent Speaker had a bruised jaw, nothing serious. Zaraki was in the Hospital, Akira had gone home to finish Healing and get some blood from his fridge – he had regular donations like the rest of the Japanese Vampyric community, to prevent the loss of life through Blood Lust hunting – and Fae was busy giving her preliminary report to Hitsugaya-taichou.

Shika nodded tiredly, he would probably fall asleep on the way home, he blinked vaguely as Sarah conjured a pair of crutches for him and he smiled absently, accepting them as Zaraki hauled him to his feet, being careful not to put any weight onto his shattered leg. Balancing on his crutches he staggered after Kenichi and Kai to their car and practically toppled into the backseat, the journey was long and he was asleep before they even reached the end of the street.

The older two exchanged sad looks and shook their heads.

-

(1) **Mori eyeing up the girls:** He's a healthy 18-year-old guy without a significant other. He's _allowed_ to be a little perverted! Besides, Closet Pervert/Dork!Mori is absolutely hilarious. At least in mine and SOS's opinions it is. XDD

(2) **Kitsune Leather:** We already know that Demons are real in the HP books (Check the Fantastic Beats booklet, there's at least five creatures referred to as demons) and Kitsunes have always been reffered to as possessing spiritual powers in Japanese mythology. Ergo, I decided to create a seperate magical fox species - Kitsune leather is extremely spell resistant, flexible and hard wearing which is why it is the magical armour of choice for the Japanese Magical Law Enforcement Officers as opposed to Dragon Hide or Graphorn hide in Europe.

(3) _Iaculatio Fulgoris_ – Lightning Spear, Element based Spell of Harry's invention during the Second Rise. He's more gifted with Lightning, Fire, Wind and oddly enough Water based elemental Magic.

(4) _Rubican Lumos_ – Red Light, just a variation of the Lumos Spell which gives out a white light, here it is used as a signal flare.

(5) **Potions vs Charms:** The way I see it is with Charms, it heals the wound instantly, but only by using what's already there, shifting bone mass to mend the break which leaves the whole bone weaker and a lot easier to break – especially for someone like Harry who has Brittle Bones anyway. With the Potions, it speeds up the production of repair, so he'll be on crutches for a week at most but his bone will be just as strong as it was before breaking, probably even more so.

-

**Important note: I HAVE A JOB!! 8DDD Sadly, this means updates will be dropping back to once every two weeks. Which is better than my other stories which all inspiration has just DIED. Oh well, I'll update them as and when I can, I hope you guys will continue to be patient with me. 8)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Black Birds**

- **Important AN at the bottom **

Maybe he shouldn't have come in.

Shikamaru sighed and gritted his teeth as yet _another_ girl asked him what happened to damage his leg, he gave her a strained smile and told her the truth, he got it doing his job and if she would please let him get back to his Geography homework? Thank you.

It was bad enough having Haruhi hovering over him when he woke up and found himself in Ranka's futon, apparently Ranka had seen Kenichi and Kai carrying up the stairs when he returned from work and told them to shift him into his apartment. Ranka ended up sharing Haruhi's futon with her and he wouldn't hear a word against it from the green eyed teenager, their cover story was that Harry had bone bruising from a close encounter with a perp's speeding car. Which wasn't too far from the truth considering the number of Bone breakers that actually managed to hit him before he got a Shield up in time.

Until it was healed, Ranka refused to let Shikamaru stay in his own apartment – just in case he fell or something bad happened and he needed help. It was sweet, and he imagined it was something that Sirius, Remus or his parents would have done if they had still been alive, as it stood, he knew it was exactly the sort of thing Molly and Arthur would have done.

But the reactions of his classmates were just down right ridiculous.

It took almost ten minutes before Tamaki would stop fluttering around him and sit the fuck down to pay attention to the lesson and it took even longer to get Kyouya off his case about going to an Ootori Hospital for a check up. He didn't want to know if the X-rays would register his leg as broken, the numerous badly healed fractures, the fact that several of his bones had to be re-grown would definitely show up on a muggle X-ray with his Brittle Bone problem, they would be suspiciously healthy in comparison.

So Shikamaru BSed on the spot, got prickly, got down right nasty and then just out and out ignored the third Ootori-heir in the hopes he would just give it a rest and leave him be.

Luckily he did.

Unluckily the School Nurse was now stalking him.

Bastard.

-

Even though he wouldn't be able to take part, Shikamaru still went to Martial Arts, meeting Satoshi at the door.

The hyperactive Morinozuka lunged towards him with a gleeful yell, for all intensive purposes moving to glomp him, until he spotted the crutches and the white bandages that were visible around his foot.

"Shika-kun! What happened!? Are you OK? Was it Yakuza? Those ass holes! It's not too bad is it? Broken leg? Fractures? Oh Chika's not going to be happy that you can't fight him today, he hasn't said anything about it but I can tell, I know that he really likes you and likes fighting with you because you don't hold back I think. You treat him like an equal that's what I think. You'll be alright to fight next week though won't you? Can I sign your cast? Why aren't you wearing one? Wow you're going around without a cast on a broken leg that's really cool! You're really tough just like Taka-nii I bet he could go around on a broken leg without a cast!" The dark haired 14-year-old practically gushed.

Shikamaru, already used to the younger Morinozuka's moments of what he suspected was ADHD, simply raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

Satoshi paused catching the look before blushing and scratching at the back of his head, realising that he had been going on a bit, something which had scared a few people off in the past. Shikamaru merely chuckled and shook his head, gesturing to the younger Morinozuka to open the door for him.

The little Berserker had been correct about Chika not being happy over his injuries, he'd growled, grunted and complained before finally allowing Shika to sit in on the lesson with Satoshi fluttering around him until the green eyed teenager promptly tossed him across the room and told him to practice instead of fuss. Even if he couldn't use his leg, he could still use a little bit of magic channelled into his arms to throw the teenager a few feet, the 14-year-old practiced for a while before yet again becoming distracted and plopping himself down beside the 17-year-old and starting up a conversation. Shika pinching him every time he started to rant to try and train him out of it, not realising he was doing the exact same thing that Satoshi's grandmother would do to try and curb the hyperactive rants.

The two chattered quite happily, Shikamaru learning that his friend's birthday was coming up soon on the 19th of November, making the green eyed teenager momentarily panic over what to get his young friend. At first he thought of a Hiraisen, a folded paperfan, to smack Chika around with instead of his Kendo practice sword as that would no doubt cause the young Haninozuka some brain-damage later in life. But he decided against it, sometimes Chika needed a good smack to the head, especially when issues such as his cake-obsessed older brother came up.

Honestly, Shika couldn't understand why Chika seemed to hate Hani-senpai so much when his bestfriend Satoshi near enough _worshiped_ Mori-senpai. Which, thinking about it, was kind of creepy when his mind drifted back to Ron and Ginny's behaviour towards their own older brothers.

He went home later that day with his mind buzzing with ideas about what to do for Satoshi's birthday, after all, he wasn't too keen on them for himself – the day he was born was the day he sentenced his parents to death after all – but for friends like Satoshi, Haruhi, Chika, Ritsu and Ayame he wouldn't mind doing something. Maybe the cinema and pizza?

The youngest Morinozuka seemed like the social sort so he probably would find it exciting to be in a movie theatre without buying out all the other seats, hopefully he would feel like everyone there was helping him celebrate his birthday.

Now all Shika had to do was figure out what to _give_ the boy for his birthday.

-

Ranka drove Shikamaru to his therapy session on the Saturday afternoon while Haruhi was out shopping.

It was a three hour session so the cross-dresser planned on going out and doing a little shopping – he was planning on getting Shika some nice clothes with the money the boy gave him as 'rent' claiming that if he was intruding on him and his daughter then he was damn well going to pay them for it, nothing Ranka or Haruhi said or did could dissuade him so Ranka just accepted it for what it was and plotted to buy him a nice kimono... women's kimono though, just to be difficult, that and Shika would look positively ravishing in drag.

Murakami Orihime was a youngish woman of thirty-six, she was short and quite busty by Japanese standards, she had an easy smile and soothing voice, the woman wore a plain denim skirt down to her knees, a pair of flesh coloured tights, kitten heeled black boots, and a white blouse, the first few buttons loose and open revealing a simple golden locket. All in all, everything about her projected a calm, open and friendly aura, even her magic.

She introduced herself and immediately assured him that nothing said within her office would never leave, activating what he sensed was a four-layered Silencing and Privacy Ward over her office. She asked him which name he preferred and used it the whole time. They didn't even talk much about what happened, in fact they'd played Chess for the majority of the session, just chatting quietly and sipping at the warm camomile tea she made – right in front of Shika so to put him at ease at the lack of Veritaserum he worried she may have slipped into the brew.

Shikamaru was thankful that she wasn't going to push him, she knew her job and even though he _wanted_ to tell her everything, to get it off his chest, to start the long road to recovery... He just couldn't. Not until he was ready, every time he tried to open his mouth to say it, the words just stuck, his world flipped and his stomach shrunk in on itself.

So they played Chess.

And they chatted about inane things, like the Ministry kept giving creatures such unimaginative names – _Norwegian_ Ridgeback, _Hungarian_ Horntail, _Chinese_ Fireball, was each Dragon named after the country it came from? Was it exclusive to that country in particular? Of course not – the benefits of exercise in the mornings as opposed to the evenings, Coffee vs Tea, the oddities of the Cherryblossoms at Ouran, how irritating yet sincere Suou Tamaki was, his problem with finding Satoshi a birthday present.

Just... general stuff. Things not too close, never too close.

Orihime-san was patient, she smiled a lot, nodding and silently encouraging him, filling the silence whenever it became too thick with a story of her younger brother's antics.

It was half an hour towards the end, when he finally blurted out that he was a murderer.

Orihime had gone very still and have him a very flat and somewhat unimpressed look, she sat back, her posture neutral and asked him to explain why he thought of himself as a murderer.

For the next half an hour he explained himself, the woman sitting there, nodding, her eyes serious yet – just like Suou's – never judgemental. When he'd finished, she sat back and set her clipboard aside, and watched him for a while, gathering her thoughts.

Until finally, she asked: "Did you enjoy taking those lives?"

Shika went white and told her in no uncertain terms that he most certainly, absolutely, did _not_.

And she smiled and told him that he took life, but only murderers' enjoyed it.

From then on, the two of them discussed various aspects of the War; Orihime even cancelled her next appointment and asked her secretary to call Ranka-san to meet them a little later. The two of them chatted for another hour, Shika hashing out several issues and picking them apart with her help.

She'd even pulled out a Pensieve with his permission to review several memories, he was profoundly grateful when she didn't throw up and instead made some sarcastic and depreciating commentary on the surroundings, the intelligence of the Death Eaters and pondered out loud over their personal hygiene.

After that, they had to part ways, it had been four hours and Orihime-san couldn't reschedule anymore appointments on his behalf, add to that, his voice was raspy and sore from the constant talking.

Making his way out on his crutches, the green eyed teenager smiled brightly at Ranka as he slipped into the car, feeling lighter and cleaner than he had in years.

He only laughed when the older man told him that he'd bought him a few outfits while he was out shopping, the teenager already knowing that there would be at least _one_ women's garment in there – Ranka seemed determined to see him in Drag, well that ship had sailed once and Shikamaru wasn't keen on riding it ever again.

It was while Ranka was helping him up the stairs that he thought of what to get for Satoshi's birthday.

He would need paint, a lot of paint, and a BIG canvas.

-

Shikamaru hummed as he worked on Satoshi's present, a large grin present on his face as he bent over the large canvas, his leg stretched out at an odd angle – still healing – with the heavy canvas braced against his other leg and against the Fujioka coffee table. He had been careful to lay down a lot of newspaper before getting to work and told Haruhi before she left to the Maratomi Mart to pick up food for dinner.

He was rather proud of how it had gone so far, the background was a muggy storm full of oranges, reds, greys and ominous dark purples, the occasional streak of white and blue signifying captured lightning amidst the clouds. Set, locked in a freeze-frame of writhing coiling limbs – jaws glistening with blood and reflected flames – scales each one distinguishable flexing over powerful thick muscle, was a black Hungarian Horntail intertwined with a Chinese Fireball, captured in the middle of combat. Snarling furious, power and grace, untamed and feral.

It was one of his best paintings yet.

He was actually tempted to keep it for himself and just pawn off one of his landscapes onto the hyper boy before scowling and shaking his head, he painted the dragons for Satoshi and Satoshi was going to get them for his birthday. No matter how much Shikamaru may have wanted to keep it – defend it tooth and nail from Charlie if he had to, because he knew if the red haired Dragon nut ever saw it Satoshi would never get his hands on it.

He didn't hear the rabble outside as he worked on the painting, dipping his paintbrush back into his reflective red he continued adding that tiny little reflection to each scale on the Fireball's legs, after all, the Chinese Fireball actually had quite a smooth, almost flesh like hide, its armour lying beneath its skin, its legs, however, where much like a chicken's, rough and somewhat stickish compared to the rest of the beast. He was going on what he remembered from the brief glimpse during his Fourth Year before the First Task and in the photographs that Charlie sent from Romania over the years.

The Horntail was largely finished; Shikamaru just had to put some blood into the ridges of its tail. Once that was done, he could set it to dry, wrap it, and have it delivered to the Morinozuka estate on Satoshi's birthday.

The door opened and the dark haired teenager finally looked up from his painting, thin brush poised to make a few more brush strokes against the canvas.

It was the Hosts....

He blinked and gave them a warm smile, still feeling unusually light from his therapy session on the Saturday. Obviously none of the Hosts had realised he was there, nor expected him to greet them like that, Hani was the first to get over it.

"Shika-chan!" he squealed in greeting, almost running over to him before Mori clasped a hand over the boy's shoulder reminding him he still had his shoes on, "What are you doing here!?" He chirped happily from where he leaned against his cousin.

"I live next door. Ranka-san refused to let me stay there on my own until my leg healed up so now I'm mooching of Haru and her dad." He explained cheerfully, with an awkward shrug before setting his paintbrush down and washing it off in the small glass of White-Spirit and then again in another glass of plain old tap-water. He liked to take care of his equipment, before putting it back into the small metal box where he kept all his painting supplies. "I take it you'll be wanting the coffee table huh?" He asked the brunette as she was hanging up her coat.

"Please." The girl called as she moved to usher the Hosts in, frowning somewhat as the Twins and Hani made requests for slippers and then having Tamaki slip into his fantasies again while Shika went about packing up his things, putting his paints away, balling up the newspaper so as not to get paint anywhere and casually tossing it into the waste-paper bin, to be sorted when he took the trash out on the weekend.

"_W-Whoa._"

The 17-year-old looked up sharply to see the expression of complete awe on Hitachiin Kaoru's face as he leaned over to look at the canvas Shikamaru had been painting.

"Y-You painted this?" He demanded staring at the green eyed teenager with large yellow eyes.

Shika nodded, "Yes. It's a birthday present for a friend." He explained looking down at the painting fondly before pushing it flat onto the table, unknowingly letting the rest of the Hosts get a good look as he attempted to lever himself up onto his feet.

"Shika." Haruhi growled warningly from the doorway, frowning as the teenager froze half standing balanced on one leg, he wobbled slightly and Kaoru had to catch him quickly before he fell and did even more damage to himself.

He didn't even bother trying to argue with the stubborn girl as he simply set the Canvas aside against the wall, piled up his painting supplies and pouted, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on the palm of his hand, eyeing her sulkily.

The two of them watched in vague amusement – Shika – and irritation ranging to murderous intent – Haruhi – as the Hosts generally made a nuisance of themselves, even the moment of drama with Hani-senpai's claustrophobia in the bathroom. Shika ended up having to bend almost double, hiding his face in his ankle to hide his laughter, then the Hosts even went as far as sitting in '_Crouching Tiger Style_' as Haruhi twitched and went to make tea.

Shikamaru only came out of his laughter when he heard the twins offering Haruhi some special tea their Father got while in Africa, while not anything _bad_ per say, it was what they said afterwards that yet again set Shikamaru into fits of laughter – something highly uncommon for him.

"It's perfect for Milk Tea. Got Milk?" The two asked in perfect tandem, identical wicked grins on their lips, only making Shikamaru choke and then burst out laughing to the surprise of all the others present.

He blamed Charlie. Charlie, Fleur, Seamus and Luna, they were all perverts and they'd corrupted his mind, they gave him a dirty mind. He blamed them _entirely_.

Really, when telling someone they should think outside the box, they should include warnings about your brain rolling into the gutter and down a storm-drain.

He waved a hand at the funny looks he got, "Sorry, sorry. Ignore me."

The green eyed teenager couldn't help but find the next few minutes proceedings highly amusing as Tamaki and the twins started acting like idiots over tea while Kyouya went about looking through the books, Hani giggled and fiddled with his cake-box and Mori took a seat beside him and sat quietly, his eyes occasionally wondering to the painting behind the 17-year-old who was too busy grinning and trying to repress his laughter. Honestly, those three were complete morons. It was worse than watching Ron and Remus dancing around Hermione and Tonks, that was almost _painful_. With Sirius and Kayleigh it was fairly simple, the two looked at each other, asked if there was still any love between them, five minutes later Silencing Charms were going up around Sirius's bedroom and neither were seen for the rest of the day.

Haruhi sat down beside him and began serving out the tea as Hani offered her the cake box, she would be getting first pick today followed by Shika as he was injured. And considering how much Chika had complained about Hani, the green eyed teenager knew how much he loved his cakes, so being offered second pick after Haruhi was actually kind of touching.

He pinched himself, damnit, after meeting with Orihime-chan his emotions had been all over the place, wait, Orihime-_chan?_ He pinched himself harder only to have his hand caught by a larger tanned one; he looked up to the somewhat disapproving and confused features of Morinozuka-senpai and wrinkled his nose like a chastised child but stopped pinching himself, rubbing his hands to try and dispel the sensation of the Senior's skin against his own. He would have to dose himself with a Calming Drought and then do a bit of Legilimency Meditation tonight before going to sleep – he would have to ask Haruhi and Ranka if they minded him burning an incense stick, it was Jasmine scented so he hoped they didn't have a problem with it.

The teenager spaced out for a little waiting for the other Hosts to be served their food first, while manners were few and far between with the Order members he had been working hard not to seem like a complete heathen while at Ouran or even with Haruhi and Ranka, which was why he waited.

He blinked, somewhat startled, and smiled softly when Morinozuka-senpai carefully flicked one of his strawberries onto Haruhi's plate when she said she liked them. The smile only became a snigger when the twins and Tamaki started being idiots again on the other side of the room to Hani's amusement.

Shikamaru shook his head when the Hosts requested food after all the cakes were consumed, he wasn't all that hungry now, he had grown used to having very little food and his stomach and body had adjusted accordingly. The fact that Tamaki wrote her a note regarding 'Deluxe' Sushi was just the icing on top of the cake and the teenager almost toppled into Morinozuka–senpai briefly before quickly pushing himself straight with an apologetic wave of his hand, too busy laughing himself sick just like the twins to verbally apologise.

Then Hani made the ultimate request.

"I... wanna eat food that Haruhi made." He admitted with a small somewhat hesitant smile on his face, as if worried that she would reject the request.

"I can make it... but if I start cooking now, it'll take a while." She admitted, rubbing her chin in thought as she mentally calculated how much food she had to make something, how much buying the extra amount would cost and whether or not she would need extra cash from her allowance.

"I'll wait!" Hani chirped, thrusting his arms up into the air excitedly, reminding Shikamaru of a certain Morinozuka four-years his Junior.

The teenager shook his head as suddenly everyone started gushing about going to a Commoner's Market, surprisingly Tamaki wasn't one of them but judging by the way he had fallen silent upon entering the other room... he was probably paying his respects to Haruhi's mother.

The dark haired teenager laughed as the Hosts began to clamour and began to lever himself up again, a tanned hand scooping under his armpits helping him up the rest of the way as he wobbled slightly. It was strange how he wasn't freaking out over being touched yet, his skin crawled a little but nothing else, no unease, no burning, his mind didn't disconnect, his magic didn't flare around him protectively.

"Thank you Morinozuka-senpai. Could you pass me my crutches? They're just over there." He asked pointing to Haruhi's desk, incidentally just out of Shika's arms reach.

The silent Senior gathered them up and handed them over, watching in silent interest as the teenager sorted himself out and clumped out of the apartment, pausing briefly to slip a single sandal onto his good foot before following after the others, shouting at them that they had no idea where they were going so they should _wait_.

The teenager huffed and grumbled about annoying rich bastards who should act their ages and not their shoe-sizes, unaware that every word was perfectly audible to a highly amused 18-year-old stood behind him who on occasion even shared such uncharitable thoughts – but only on very bad days – though never out loud.

"Shika-chan! What are you doing out and about?" Ranka-chan exclaimed half way up the stairs having spotted the teenager beginning to climb down, Morinozuka-senpai hovering just behind him just in case of a fall.

"Ah, Ranka-san. Haruhi's friends decided to pop round so we were planning on going to the Market for some extra munchies for lunch. Haru's still upstairs I think." He added before the cross-dresser could ask, "I take it Madam Oneechan's fever is all better?"

"Yes! That Cold-cure you made worked beautifully Shika-chan! You really must give me the recipe." He exclaimed brightly making the teenager grin.

"Sorry, no can do. Family recipe." Which was as close to the truth as he was going to get. Ranka pouted and grinned saucily making Shika shake his head, "Your feminine wiles will do you no good Ranka-san. Now go on. Tell Haruhi to hurry up, she should have been here before I hit the stairs with the speed I'm going at." He declared self-depreciatingly, yet still in high spirits.

The man merely laughed and carried on up the stairs to meet her daughter while Shika carried on down the stairs slowly as the twins, curious about who the 'woman' was, climbed back up. It was only Tamaki's squeal and the angry snarling of Ryoji in full Daddy-Must-Protect-His-Princess mode that made him pause.

"_Oh hell_." He growled in English and began to try and turn around, glaring at Mori when he moved to pick him up, "I'm not an invalid, I still have two legs and I'm going to get back up these stairs without help." He growled stubbornly and began to hop and swing himself up slowly, ignoring the startled expression on the Senior's face as he left him behind not-so-much in his dust.

What he walked in was just pure Host Club to a T.

Shikamaru shook his head and resigned himself for a _long_ day.

Ranka would have made a good Host he thought absently as he yet again sat himself down awkwardly on the floor, crutches across his lap.

Shame that he acted almost exactly the same as Tamaki did.

-

**Yeah. XDDD Shika's emotions are a bit wonky after therapy. I remember what it was like after I got out of it, I felt torn between happy and light and wanting to laugh and shrinking in shame and embarrassment that I had let someone know me that much. But since everyone already knows almost everything about him, that emotion isn't much of an issue for him.**

IMPORTANT NOTE

No doubt you guys have realised that 'Beyond the Emerald Dawn' and 'Flight of the Raven' have become inactive. Well, this is why.

**Flight:** The Harry/Draco pairing is physically turning my stomach. I can't stand it anymore, it just doesn't work. Draco's a self centred narcissistic racist brat - everything that Raven hates. So I don't see it working. Plus, I've run out of inspiration for it, the chapter plans no longer fit with the direction its been heading in and I've just lost all motivation. I'm not getting any inspiration for it. So it'll be going on hiatus until further notice. I may come back to it but not for a while, especially not with my new job.

**Emerald:** This is going on Hiatus because, like with Flight, I've lost inspiration. I will NOT be abandoning this one as there is technically no pairing, just hinted. However, typing the next chapter is like pulling TEETH without painkillers.

I'm really sorry but I do have a life outside of fanfiction - with the new job I can't be faffing around trying to type up stories that I just don't have the motivation for. The only reason Black Birds is still going is because I have 12 chapters waiting to post and with 'When Worlds Collide' I just found my chapter plans - so there should be an update soon.


	8. Chapter 8 Christmas Special p1

**Black Birds**

_Christmas Special – Two chapters instead of one!! Enjoy!_

-

When Kyouya called him about visiting Haruhi-san's home, just to check on her for Tamaki's peace of mind, he hadn't minded.

The eldest of the Morinozuka brothers had already finished with his morning practice, his younger brother currently hogging the bathroom and chattering happily with their grandfather who had decided to join him. Apparently a friend of his was planning something and he was really curious and excited about it, from what Takashi had managed to piece together, this mysterious friend seemed a bit reclusive and shy, prone to accidents or abuse if Satoshi's ramblings were correct. Not that he thought his younger brother was lying but Satoshi had a habit of leaping to the wrong conclusions and then not giving anyone the chance to dissuade him.

Give that this friend currently had a broken leg Satoshi didn't think they would be doing anything like canoeing or rock climbing or surfing but he was still excited.

The dark haired Host stepped into the bathroom for a quick wash and brush-up, telling his Grandfather that he would be spending the day with friends – Morinozuka Kimihiro merely grinning and waving a hand from where he reclined lazily in the water and telling him not to do anything that he wouldn't, Takashi carefully refrained from giving his grandfather a cheeky answer that his Grandmother was more likely to throw his way before towelling off and returning to his room to get dressed.

A few minutes after the tallest Host had finished dressing, Mitsukuni was at the door waiting for him, cake box under arm and a bright flowery grin on his face. He had been looking forward to seeing Haruhi-san's home for a while and meeting her father even more so, the most immature of the Hosts had never met a cross-dresser before and was practically bouncing at the thought.

Mori couldn't help but join in with the rest of the Hosts antics, it was kind of fun to join in on the fun even if he did feel a little bit like an idiot in doing so. But it was also fun to ruffle Haruhi-san's feathers in doing so; she was rather cute when she got angry with them.

So they all followed her to her apartment, Hani revealing his genius in bringing the cake box finally gained them entrance to the small two roomed home.

They hadn't expected anyone else besides Haruhi's father to be there, so the sight of Akegata Shikamaru was a surprise, especially considering how he was sat at the coffee table, bandaged leg stuck out awkwardly across the floor a painting canvas in his lap and a pale reddish orange paint coated brush poised a bare inch over the stretched fabric. The teenager had obviously been there for a while if the paint splattered newspaper around him was any indication, Takashi eyed him briefly taking in the fact that he wasn't even shivering in the cold winter wind that swept into the boxy apartment.

The green eyed teenager blinked somewhat in surprised before offering them a warm smile in greeting, this reaction seemed to surprise everyone. Mitsukuni seemed to get over it the swiftest and nearly launched himself at the dark haired teenager before Takashi caught him, they shouldn't go tramping through Haruhi-san's home with their dirty shoes on.

The group of them took their shoes off and generally put themselves upon Haruhi as she rushed around looking for shoes, the tallest of the Hosts not bothering as he knew he would just take them off to sit on the tatami floor.

It was then that Kaoru exclaimed over the painting that Akegata-san had been working on earlier, the dark haired teenager explaining that it was a birthday present for a friend, causing a light bulb to flicker to life in Takashi's head.

Satoshi had mentioned that his friend had a broken leg, Akegata-san's leg was wrapped up in bandages and the elder Morinozuka could see a pair of crutches leaning against the desk in the other room, he said that he was making something for a friend's birthday soon. Satoshi's birthday was a matter of almost two weeks away, flinty grey eyes flickered from the green eyed teenager beside him as he watched the typical Host Club antics around Haruhi-san's home with amusement and to the painting of the dragons behind him. Was Akegata-san Satoshi's mysterious new friend?

He seemed a lot different from what he'd seen of the teenager around Ouran, perhaps he was on pain medication? Maybe it was simply because he wasn't at school? Whatever it was, Akegata Shikamaru seemed... happier than Takashi had seen him before.

Needless to say he found his attention torn between Mitsukuni, Haruhi-san and Akegata-san for the rest of the visit, if the green eyed teenager really _was_ friends with his younger brother... Takashi loved his younger brother and didn't want to see him come to any harm.

Maybe it was just him being a little over-protective but the green eyed teenager just seemed to rub him the wrong way.

He repressed a snort of amusement as the twins unknowingly made a rather lewd comment about milk, and judging by the snort and childish laugher of the younger teenager he knew it as well. The afternoon passed peacefully enough, he was somewhat confused about why the green eyed teenager kept pinching himself but put a stop to it – self harming, even if it was just pinching, wasn't productive and nor was it pleasant – Haruhi agreeing to make them lunch was nice of her, he had just gotten to his feet in time to catch Akegata-san from falling and possibly doing himself even more damage – he was momentarily stunned by just how _light_ the younger boy was before watching him strap himself into his crutches and make his way out of the apartment with a surprising dexterity and grace considering his current hindrance.

Following the teenager outside as he shouted to the other Hosts about waiting for someone who knew where they were going the 18-year-old couldn't help his eyes drifting... downwards. Listening with amusement as the teenager grumbled about idiots who should act their ages and not their shoe-sizes, a thought Takashi had often echoed during some of the more ridiculous moments in the past two years as the 17-year-old awkwardly made his way down the stairs, Takashi following his movements just in case.

"Shika-chan! What are you doing out and about?" exclaimed a pretty woman as she climbed up the stairs, the taller of the them jerking his eyes above waist level guiltily before his ogling was caught by someone other than his cousin. (Mitsukuni had already teased him mercilessly about the Bikini incident(1).)

The two chatted happily for a bit, leading Mori to revise his previous opinion of this being a woman but actually being Haruhi's father Fujioka Ryoji. The two separated briefly before Tamaki's squeal grated against his ears, the dark haired teenager moved to grab the shorter teen and return to the apartment as it would be faster only to be firmly ordered down before he even got the chance.

Ryoji – or Ranka as he preferred – was disturbingly similar in temperament to Tamaki-kun that it was no wonder Haruhi-san was able to handle the president when he was being particularly difficult.

Exploring the Commoners' Supermarket was an experience as well, Shikamaru stuck with them a little while, long enough to explain that the majority of the food here was almost the same as the stuff they got served only of a slightly lower quality with ingredients mostly grown within the country so as to cut down on shipping costs. He then wondered off into the stationary section to get something that he refused to allow Takashi to see – probably something for his younger brother that the green eyed teenager didn't trust him not to tell and ruin the surprise.

All in all, a very nice day.

And if he found his eyes wondering to a certain currently injured teenager, only Mitsukuni noticed, and thankfully refrained from doing much more than smirking and chatting up a storm with Ranka-san.

Takashi knew he would be really getting it from his cousin when they got into the car.

He was torn between regret and amusement.

His eyes wondered again as the dark haired teenager leaned across the table to steal some meat out of Tamaki's meal, grinning wickedly as Ranka-san cheered him on.

... ... Yes! He was torn between something and something wasn't he?(2)

-

Over the next week, Shikamaru went to two more therapy meetings with Orihime-san and meditated for a while after each one, reviewing the memories and emotions brought on by those meetings and carefully ordered his mind again.

It was helping him, yesterday he had been hugged by Ranka-san and even managed to relax enough to hug the man back before having to pull himself away with a shudder. The beaming smile the cross-dresser gave him was more than worth the cold flush that soaked through his body for a moment.

Sarah dropped over and unwrapped his leg, declaring that it was healed but he should still keep as much weight off it as possible, putting a pair of cloth bracers against his knee and ankle to better aid the healing of the fractures – which had now disappeared to a faint bruising. He would still be on the crutches for a few more days until the bruises had mostly faded but he was well enough to move back into his own apartment. Not that Ranka let him. And even come into work for the last of the interrogations of the Fuyaguma Family.

The green eyed teenager made sure to bring a few phials of Veritaserum he had '_borrowed_' from Snape before leaving.

He finished his painting for Satoshi and arranged to have it delivered in the afternoon of the 19th of November... three days from today.

-

"He's here! He's here!"

Morinozuka Takashi looked up lazily from his geography homework as his younger brother bolted past his room, still attempting to drag his jumper on, he couldn't help but chuckle somewhat as his brother crashed into the wall again before stopping long enough to pull his jumper down and race back into his room.

"C'mon Taka-nii! You said you'd come too! You said you'd meet my friend too!" The more excitable of the two gushed latching onto his brother's arm and tugging insistently, grinning maniacally as his older brother slowly got to his feet and allowed himself to be dragged from his bedroom.

In the Entrance hall Takashi blinked at the sight of a familiar second year, leaning against the door with his arms folded and an amused eyebrow raised as Morinozuka Kimihiro and his beloved wife Morinozuka Airi – formerly Haninozuka Airi, chattered happily at him.

Both Takashi and Satoshi came from a fairly large family, their parents Morinozuka Itsuki and Suzuki were constantly away on business, leaving their sons in the care of Itsuki-tousama's own parents Kimihiro-jiichan and Airi-baachan. Occasionally their father's older brother – Morinozuka Masahiro – and younger sister – Kakuyoku Kotoko, formerly Morinozuka Kotoko – would drop by just to visit and make sure that their beloved parents weren't corrupting their precious nephews.

Bit late for that in Takashi's opinion, it seemed as if he had inherited his Grandmother's tendency to shy away from conversation and his Grandfather's dirty mind, Satoshi had gone the other way, he inherited his grandfather's hyperactivity and his grandmother's cheerful scatter-brain.

Judging from the way their grandfather was acting towards Akegata-san, he would be attempting to get the green eyed teenager around the house as much as possible.

Not that Takashi minded.

"You two ready to go?" The green eyed teenager asked looking over Kimihiro-jiichan's shoulder.

The 5'3" teenager was wearing a black hoodie with a red and amber scarf wrapped around his neck, a pair of washed out old jeans that weren't too tight but weren't very baggy either held up by a studded belt and a chain looping around to his backpocket, no doubt with his wallet attached to it. He was still on crutches they noted.

"Yup! Where are we going? You won't tell me anything! Is your leg better? Have you –

Takashi blinked in surprise as the green eyed teenager calmly bopped his younger brother on the head with the back of his fist, cutting him off mid-rant.

"It's called a surprise for a reason Satoshi-kun. C'mon you two. We're walking so it'll take a while to get there and we don't want to be late. Chika said he was going to meet us there, I hope you don't mind that I didn't invite Hani-senpai, as much as I'm sure you would have wanted him here I didn't think the fighting between him and Chika would have made for a nice birthday." He explained to the two as they slipped their shoes on.

Satoshi shook his head, "No it's alright. I'm surprised I never thought of it actually. Bye jiichan baachan!" The younger teenager chirped happily giving his grandmother a peck on the cheek before bouncing from the house, Shikamaru slouching after him – after giving the two Morinozuka elders' a bow of respect – Takashi following after him a little further back studiously keeping his eyes above waist level and ignoring the perverse giggling from his Grandfather and the way his grandmother murmured at him teasingly under her breath.

As much as he loved his grandparents, did they have to act like that in public?

Half an hour of walking and the two Morinozukas' found themselves stood outside a large building, Yasuchika and a few of Satoshi's other classmates and friends from Kendo and Karate milling around outside waiting for them.

It turned out that Shikamaru had arranged for them all to go and see a film, but he hadn't bought out the entire theatre, for what reason Takashi couldn't imagine but when the large group took their seats he figured out why.

Because seeing a film with more people was always more fun.

They watched a fantasy film featuring dragons and their riders, an evil king who ruled the land and sent demons after those who opposed him, of rebellion and princesses. The film was called Eragon and Satoshi absolutely _loved_ it.

He practically bounced off the walls as they left the theatre, gushing about how he wanted to be an awesome Dragon Rider and take out the evil King Galbatorix and how he would have rescued Arya sooner and not allowed the Varden to imprison Murtagh.

Though how much of his hyperactivity was due to the film or the copious amounts of sweet toffee popcorn and fizzy drink they took into the theatre with them was anyone's guess considering his younger brother.

After the film, which Shikamaru had paid for against all protests, he then took them to a Commoner's restaurant for pizza. The group were hyper, rowdy and still high from the film and they enjoyed their pizzas immensely, not even Takashi could find a fault with the foreign food and considering how he preferred traditional meals it was quite the compliment. He was rather impressed as to how the green eyed teenager kept control of the large group of teenagers without Takashi having to step in even once as the '_Senior_' member of their group.

After the meal it had already gotten dark so the group called for their cars and bid each other farewell, Satoshi and Takashi bundling into their Mercedes while Shikamaru merely waved them off with every intention of walking home.

When neither older teenager had noticed was the calculating gleam in the now 14-year-old Satoshi's eye as he watched them interact while he was running riot with his friends. Nor the deviously thoughtful grin that stretched across his lips, needless to say, the shorter of the Morinozukas' was _plotting_.

Plotting that was momentarily put on hold when he got home to find a large wrapped package waiting for him along with a birthday card.

_Satoshi,_

_Happy birthday. I couldn't think of anything to buy you so I just painted something._

_Shikamaru_

With a steadily widening grin the dark haired teenager eagerly tore off the wrapping paper revealing the hand painted oil-canvas in all its glory.

Blood splattered black Hungarian Horntail, fiery snarling Chinese Fireball splashed across a stormy background bringing exclamations of delight and awe from the suddenly starry eyed 14-year-old and his grandparents.

Oh hell yes.

No way was he letting Shika-kun get away now! He was so setting his older brother up with the green eyed teenager.

-

Back in his own apartment, Shikamaru went about tidying up, spending some quality time with Hedwig, a bit more sketching, he made muffins which were promptly brought over to Haruhi and Ranka's house for their breakfast the next day and returned to school and his club activities as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

He wasn't expecting anything for Christmas, he knew that most Japanese didn't even celebrate it and he didn't mind, it was just a reminder of good times long gone anyway.

So when Hedwig vanished for two weeks, Shikamaru understandably got a little worried, and he was completely blindsided when she returned with a shrunken backpack hanging from her talons with a large number of wrapped presents and an even larger number of rather violent howlers.

It was nice to hear his friend's voices again, even if they were screaming obscenities at him for being such a twat.

-

So Christmas passed quietly and uneventfully and as did the following month of January.

His therapy was going well; he could now give Ranka and Haruhi the occasional hug completely of his own volition. He no longer tossed Satoshi around the moment the grey-green eyed teenager glomped him, he still freaked out when he got pinned during Martial Arts practice but he was getting better with his instantaneous '_**KILL THE MOTHERFUCKER KILL**_' reaction when it happened.

He was getting a little more social with those at school, particularly Kyouya and Tamaki as they were in his class, he eventually began to socialise with the Black Magic Club as well, seeing it as an excellent chance to keep up on his Spell Casting. The other Members of the Club had alternatively been in awe and fear of the devastating Spell-Chains he created.

He spent some more time with Ritsu, teaching him how to play basket ball and football – soccer he kept having to remind himself to call it – even going back to the red head's mansion to meet the rest of his brothers. Which somehow resulted in the green eyed teenager giving them a collective scolding over their behaviour and extracting a promise from those in question to improve.

Then February arrived, and with it came Shikamaru's most _hated_ holiday ever.

Valentines Day.

-

(1)** The Bikini Incident**: You know how in the beginning of the manga chapter where the Hosts go to Nekozawa's Beach resort when the twins are explaining the frill bikini they planned on giving to Haruhi? Well in the Manga I noticed Mori giving that Bikini a serious eyeballing. Which spawned my evil little brain thinking – wow, Mori's a bit of a pervert isn't he? And considering how most guys I know (Alright _all_ of them) are perverts by the time they hit 18 I think he's allowed to be a little perverted.

(2) **Mori losing his train of thought**: Well I just said he was a bit of a pervert didn't I? And Shika's got a _very_ nice ass. Can you guess where I'm going with this?

-

**MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS/HAPPY HANUKAH/MERRY CRIMBO**

**This is just the first part of the Christmas Special – two chapter posting. Hit the next chapter button for the next chapter. I might do a Christmas/New Year's picture at some point but don't go expecting it. My Christmas/Holiday season is pretty booked solid for now.**


	9. Chapter 9 Christmas Special p2

**Black Birds**

_Christmas Special – Part two_

-

Shikamaru flipped another page, doing his best to ignore the high-pitched giggling floating from behind the shelves of the Psychology bookcase and the sensation of multiple eyes boring into him.

He hated Valentines day, not only did it conjure memories of a blushing Ginny in Second Year, Lockhart's stupid Dwarves, Natalie moodily thrusting a handmade card at him mere days before their capture and her death but also nightmares of things he would receive in the fan mail. Naked photographs may have interested the other guys but Shikamaru didn't want a hopeful slut at his side, someone he didn't trust, who hoped for a hero to save them who wasn't able to watch their own backs – let alone his! – he didn't want some weak willed little wall flower who would bend to his every demand.

He would rather have someone who wasn't afraid to tell him he was being a douche again, wasn't afraid to say no or even if need-be smack some sense into him.

The dark haired teenager sighed in irritation, snapping his book shut. Obviously studying in here was going to be out of the question with that pack of hormonal half-banshees lurking behind the bookshelves and eyeing him like so much raw meat.

Absently, he wondered if he should drop in on the Hosts, ask Haruhi what she wanted for dinner as it was his turn to cook, maybe double check with Kyouya about that homework assignment in Biology.

He didn't expect a brown haired girl to plough into him as he left the library, or for said girl to be in floods of tears.

"Are you alright Miss?" He asked in concern, tilting his head so he could look her in the face – she was a little shorter than him he was pleased to note, he must have finally hit a growth spurt – as she hid under her hair. "You're not hurt are you?" He asked carefully, the girl peeked up at him with watery eyes before making a strange kind of choked off whimper and throwing her arms around him, burying her face against his chest, sobbing her heart out.

Shikamaru tensed immediately but forced himself to relax and shove away the stirrings of panic that having the strange girl hugging him caused, she needed his help right now and he couldn't break down. The fact that with her thick wavy brown hair and pale skin she looked a little like Hermione also helped to sooth the instinctive desire to shove her away and bolt.

The former Potter gently placed his hands on the girl's shoulders as she cried against him, unable to do anything else as she finally explained the whole story, about how Hani had a cavity so the whole Host Club were refraining from Valentines' Day chocolate and about Morinozuka flat out turning her away not five minutes earlier. It took a monumental effort of self-control for Shikamaru not to push her away and march his way straight up to the Host Club and give them a piece of his mind, as it stood he waited until she had calmed down enough and one of her friends came to find her.

Once the young lady had been taken care of, the small sympathetic smile that he had been holding on his face dissolved into an expression that had once made Draco Malfoy piss on himself in the middle of a battle field.

Turning on heel the green eyed teenager stalked up to the Third Floor Music room, Magic subconsciously flaring through his body as he did so, he didn't think he had been this angry with the Hosts before – save maybe when he found out about Kyouya investigating him.

The poor door never stood a chance.

-

Everyone in the Third Floor Room looked up in shock as the door to the Club room was abruptly slammed open and splintered; an extremely displeased Akegata Shikamaru from Class 2A stood behind it, his foot still outstretched from where he'd kicked it open.

Dark green eyes scanned the room before landing on a certain tall senior and narrowing.

No one had much of a chance to move before the long haired teenager actually punched the 6'2" Senior down to his hands and knees.

"_Are you all morons or did you just miss the train for COMMON SENSE!!!?_" The green eyed Second Year roared at the collection of Hosts, ignoring the wide eyed stunned clientele littered around the room as he folded his arms and glared down his nose at the stunned 18-year-old. "I just had a young lady crying against my chest for the last twenty minutes because of you lot and your _bone idle stupidity!_" He braced a foot against Mori's shoulder and pushed him back harshly, causing the dark haired teenager to topple back onto his ass, his face still possessing that look of stunned shock – not that anyone but Hani and Shikamaru could tell.

"Shika –

"Did it never _occur_ to you to just take your cousin to the _Dentist _to have his Cavity Sealed up like any other sane person would? Really Morinozuka-san, _it doesn't take a rocket scientist to shell out 7000 yen for a fifteen minute trip to the Dentist!!_" He seethed with narrowed eyes, before shaking his head in disgust. "Next time I find out you've been such a douche, I won't just hit you around the head." He warned before turning on heel and leaving the Club Room in complete and utter silence.

"... A-are you alright Mori-senpai?" Haruhi ventured hesitantly, Christ, she knew Shika had a right nasty temper on him but...

For a moment, Takashi was silent, mainly trying to allow his brain to start working again, while the 17-year-old's advice was useful and he most definitely _would_ be taking Mitsukuni to the dentist later... he was kind of distracted by how attractive the shorter teenager was when he was angry.

"Aa." He finally answered, rubbing at his head absently.

He hit hard too.

Hmm..... was this what they called Masochism?(1)

-

Later that evening, Shikamaru got a royal chewing out from Haruhi but he firmly stood by his earlier actions and refused to apologise.

That resulted in about a week of Haruhi ignoring him and Shikamaru ignoring her, no one really noticed because even though they ignored each other, Shika still waited for her to be finished with her club duties before walking her home. His over-protective reflex ensuring he kept an eye on the diminutive girl, she never said anything about it but she figured out why he waited and didn't bother to tell him to get lost.

It came to an end by the time the School Paper started sticking their beaks in, he'd had to listen to Tamaki waxing poetic during class about trying to help the poor students who had a less fortunate club... Shikamaru wanted to smack him around the head with an Oxford English Dictionary. Couldn't he see that the School Paper just wanted some dirt to blacken his name? Pfft, of course not, he was too naïve.

So Shika passed a few words along to Kyouya who gave him a look of surprise that morphed into a small smirk that told the green eyed teenager he had already figured it out but was thankful he took the time to tell him just in case.

Things worked out well enough and then came Midterms.

His grades weren't perfect, but they were right up there with Tamaki, Kyouya and Ayame-chan's, so he wasn't all that fussed, especially considering how many years of compulsory education he had missed before hand. It was times like this he truly thanked every god and deity he could think of for giving him an unusually fast mind – how else would he be able to pick up complex and difficult spells as fast as he did when it took those with years more experience and knowledge three times as long.

It came as a surprise that Haruhi's results weren't all that perfect; Kyouya ended up asking Ayame-chan to tutor her in preparation for her resits. Considering how Haruhi only lost that top-place mark because she forgot to fill in a question wasn't the issue, the issue was Ayame-chan's unresolved issues with Tamaki on account of a careless comment, no matter how sincerely given, was spread around to others. Thus toying with the usually repressed young lady's heart and emotions.

Just one more reason that Shikamaru wasn't _entirely_ fond of the whole Host Club concept.

That too ended up working out well, Ayame-chan seemed to have appointed herself as a helper to Tamaki and Kyouya, while thoughtful, was entirely unnecessary. Thus it came as a complete surprise when his two classmates asked him to take it as an official Role within the club, their reasons stating that he wasn't afraid to keep them in line regardless of their family ties, that, and they thought he would make a fantastic '_Dark_' Host.

Shika turned them down flat as Ginny's attempts to sing.

He was still avoiding Morinozuka-senpai to be honest.

-

When the holidays started Shikamaru had every intention of just bumming at home and doing bugger all – it was a holiday after all – but somehow he ended up joining Haruhi in Karuizawa on Ranka's orders. He was still a little confused about just _how_ the older man managed to not only convince him to listen to orders and allow himself to be taken care of or just why Ranka seemed to think he _needed_ taking care of.

Ah well, Fae owned a stables not too far from the Pensione that Misuzu-san owned where Haruhi was working. Shikamaru had ended up staying with the half-veela anyway in exchange for helping her with the riding stables; when she wasn't working at the Ministry she helped her mother run their riding school. Shika already knew how to ride from Quidditch, Buckbeak and the Thestrals and one cannot forget that incident with Norbert which shall never be mentioned again under pain of death.

He'd only been working there for three days and already the majority of the horses and magical based equines adored him, Fae's girlfriend just laughed herself sick at the sight of the green eyed teenager pinned to the floor by a rather broody Griffin who insisted on grooming his hair.

The Kinkaze family had two different stables, one public one that muggles could tour through to look at the various horses they happened to have, like a few of their wingless magical equines – it sadly happened, much like a Squib to a magical family, and the mother would reject her wingless offspring – and various breeds of other muggle horses. In the other stables they had Hippogriffs, griffins, Winged horses, thestrals, a pair of wyverns, a Cerberus, an Acromantula – of all things – a hornless old Erumpet rescued from a muggle circus who had no idea what they were dealing with, a single Graphorn that was not to be ridden under any circumstances, an injured Mooncalf, a litter of kneazles and Crups, a sphinx who was kept happy with numerous cross-cord and sudoku puzzles and a pair of kirins they were using in a breeding program to try and up the kirin numbers in Japan.

Saddling up the Friesian Black stallion who had taken an instant liking to him the first time he stepped into the paddock, Shikamaru showered the tall animal with attention, stroking at his velvety muzzle and scratching behind his ears and the base of his stiff mane as nimble fingers worked the mouth bit in, double checked the buckles and bridle tack before checking the girthing was tight enough but not to the point of harm. He adjusted the stirrups before finally gathering up his reigns and swinging himself up onto the stallion.

Fae had been surprised at first with how well all the animals received him but just shrugged it off, figuring that since he had a first generation Parseltongue gift(2) then it would lend itself over to other forms of Beast Speaking. She recommended he got in touch with the Kasanoda Magical family, which only made him curious about his friend Ritsu who had no magic but a special touch with animals, was he a squib maybe?

Casting those thoughts aside Shika steered Blackjack the horse out of the stable grounds and down the drive-way, moving at a slow walk that eventually moved to a lazy rising trot to warm themselves up.

The journey to Misuzu's Pensione was a fair distance so by the time the two turned down the street and saw the three-story house they were both quite hungry and sped up their lazy trot into a canter. Still, he had not been expecting to see the _Hosts_ of all people generally running amok, Tamaki looked to be attempting to fix the fence that Shika had offered to repair later today anyway – and failing at that, the twins were pushing rubbish around and calling it cleaning... the only one of the lot who seemed to be doing anything of any use was Morinozuka-senpai who was sanding down one of the table legs because it was wobbly.

"What... are you guys doing here?" He finally asked, pulling Blackjack to a stop not too far from Tamaki who had somehow managed to botch his repairing of the fence.

The French teenager looked up and blinked in flat incomprehension at the strange teenager speaking to him, he didn't _think_ he'd seen her before... her – him?

S/he was sat astride a beautiful pure black stallion with a long meticulously combed out mane and tail, good quality brown leather bridle and saddle – not that Tamaki could tell the difference between good or bad but it _seemed_ well cared for – s/he wore a pair of tight white riding pants, jodhpurs, on her/his long legs with a pair of dark red calf guards strapped over a pair of ankle high riding boots, a short sleeved green top revealed pale stick thin arms with a few curious scars, dark black hair pulled into a low ponytail under her/his hard black riding helmet, a pair of fingerless black riding gloves on her/his hands and curious green-_green_ eyes eyeing him from under a messy fringe creeping out from said helmet.

It clicked then.

"S-Shikamaru-san?" He asked in surprise, blinking violet eyes up at the teenager he thought was female for a moment.

"Yes Tamaki-san. What are you doing here?" He repeated tilting his head and pulling a little on the Horse's reigns as he pulled against the bit in his mouth, tossing his head.

"Ah, Haruhi and then the with the," He explained disjointedly, making Shikamaru nod, having been classmates with the Host Club President he'd come to understand Tamakese.

"You heard Haruhi went to Karuizawa because Ranka-chan went on a business trip and didn't want to leave her home alone, only you completely lost it and thought she'd been sold into slavery – something which I would like to add that Ranka would _never_ do so don't suggest it again – and called everyone up in a panic and came straight here. Now you're in some kind of contest to try and gain her affections and the rights to stay in the free room... am I close?" He asked flatly, giving the blonde a disapproving look.

"Bull's eye." Kyouya announced, having wondered over from where he was sipping tea on the veranda to find out who the stranger on the horse was, only to find it was their classmate. "I was not aware you would be here Akegata-san." He added by means of greeting.

Shika sighed, "Since Ranka was going off on his business trip he refused to let me remain at home alone, Misuzu-san offered to let me have the room you guys are fighting over but this is a business so I didn't want to mooch off his hospitality. I have a co-worker who owns a riding stables not too far from here and they always need extra help so I'm staying with her and helping Haruhi and Misuzu-san with the lunch rush during the day." He explained leaning forwards to scratch the stallion's ear, mostly to quell his fidgety behaviour. "I really don't know why he's so worried about me, I'm not even related to him and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." He muttered sulkily.

"_Shika-chan! Shika-chan!!_" Haninozuka-senpai practically squealed bouncing over to him, "Look! Look!" He shouted pulling back his lip to reveal the slightly off white seal over one of his teeth, "Takashi took your advice and took me to the dentist! They had these really cool chairs and it was a little scary when they pulled out the drill but the nurse was nice and held my hand all the way through and gave me a sticker and a balloon when we left!" He practically gushed beaming up at the green eyed teenager who laughed.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. Just remember that regardless of how much you may brush your teeth, things like that happen, which is why you should go to the dentist rather than kicking up so much drama. Honestly, I don't know where you all get the energy." He complained, somewhat playfully, Hani laughed and squealed about cakes, Tamaki blathered about the beauty of a woman's smile and Kyouya simply said coffee.

With a laugh, Shikamaru swung off Blackjack and let him loose to graze on the small closed in paddock beside Misuzu's property before grabbing hold of the hammer Tamaki had been using and tearing down the botched fencing – much to his horror until Shikamaru then showed him how to repair it _properly_.

He greeted Haruhi warmly and teased her about the apron – like always – and got jabbed with a fork by the brunette – like always – before practically being assaulted by a similar apron by Misuzu, which Haruhi teased him about and got poked with a fork as well. Shikamaru pointedly did _not_ look at Morinozuka-san as he chopped wood shirtless no matter how nice the view was... OK, he looked a little and only the once but mainly because he was a bit confused about why the lady he was serving had her mouth open and a thin ribbon of drool streaking down her chin.

Then Tamaki somehow managed to get his dog to show up, whatever '_Refreshing_' points he may have got were instantly detracted when she started to molest him in true Tamaki fashion. He couldn't help but laugh, wow, pets really do take after their owners huh.

He shook his head and whistled the dog over, messing her up behind the ears but smacking her nose before she had a chance to leap on him. He figured it would be better if he took Antoinette out to burn off some energy in the paddock, if anything she'd be easier to handle around the guests if she was too tired to leap all over them. The green eyed teenager resolutely ignored the eyes that followed him as he ushered the canine to where Blackjack was cropping on the grass next-door, mainly because every time he looked over his shoulder to try and see who had been watching him all he could see was Morinozuka-san gathering up firewood with his back facing him.

Obviously not him then. Maybe it was one of the guests from the windows, or Tamaki making sure his dog was safe.

Then the piano music started and Shika laughed softly.

Trust Tamaki to play the piano, and a tune he knew the lyrics for as well. No matter, it was none of his business he decided grabbing a stick up from the floor and tossing it for the hyperactive canine to chase. And damn did she chase it.

Just like her master he thought not unkindly but with a certain amount of amusement as he hummed along to the piano music drifting from the Pensione. Idly stroking Blackjack's nose when he butted at him from behind for treats, which he got in the form of some apple-wheat treats he usually kept in a bag in his pocket just in case.

He _did_ hear the sound of breaking glass but just assumed someone had knocked a vase over, really, apart from Kyouya and the seniors, the rest of the Host Club were rather klutzy. He continued to play with Antoinette and dote on Blackjack who adored all the attention – he was rather an unruly horse at the stables, so it came as a shock when he quieted down and immediately latched onto Shikamaru as one of his favourite people.

The twins apparently won the rights to the room at the Pensione through some creative use of Brotherly Love... but Shika knew that they hadn't actually planned that episode, he saw the tense way Hikaru was trembling and how his knuckles had bleached white from the strength he clutched onto his younger brother's hand. It reminded him of that time when George was hit with that Dark Arts curse, they'd almost lost him and Fred had never left his side, clinging so tightly so him it was a wonder that George hadn't woken up just to tell him to stop bruising his hands.

So the green eyed teenager visited them in their room and gave Kaoru a quick check-up, he was a good Healer considering how he had very little training with it, most of what he knew came from personal experience on both sides of the spectrum, taking, causing and healing.

Then he swung back onto Blackjack, bid the Hosts goodbye as they climbed into Hani-senpai's car to head to his vacation home and urged the Friesian into the fastest gallop he was capable of. The two of them streaking through the streets up towards the Kinkaze estate in the darkness, it felt like flying and Shikamaru loved it.

The next day he heard about the Arai incident, he understood why Hikaru blew up a bit but still, Arai was a good kid; there was no reason to take out his frustration on him. Then he heard about the '_Date_' Kaoru set up, if Shika knew his twins, this was a plot to cheer Hikaru up by getting him out on a date with the girl he had a crush on – even if it was an unacknowledged/unnoticed one.

Then there was the thunderstorm that started when he was right in the middle of teaching the Intermediate Jumping classes, there were only two students and both girls knew what they were doing for the most part. As it stood, he didn't hear his mobile ringing all the way in the dry school with the thunder and the girls laughing and complaining light heartedly over how they were going to need nice hot baths when they got home.

So he didn't find out about the rain incident until later, needless to say Hikaru managed to avoid him for the most part when Shika found out mainly because the other Hosts were quick to hide him away whenever the irate green eyed teenager was around.

Mori-senpai was especially helpful in this endeavour.

-

(1) **HE IS NOT MASOCHISTIC!!** He just finds Shika attractive when he's angry so he's a little confused about why he's somewhat turned on when he just got smacked over the head

(2) **First Generation Parseltongue** Well we all know that it's inheritable and it has to start somewhere.

-

**END OF THE CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY/HANUKAH/CRIMBO SPECIAL**

**Yup. You'll not be getting anymore updates until New Year. I need to type up a bunch of new chapters for you guys to enjoy and so I don't get snowed under and stressed out because I start my new job in January! (HAPPY FACE) Money sweet sweet money!**

**Oh to those of you who may be confused about why Mori didn't defend himself, you know he has that stupid little guilt trip during that episode, I doubt he would defend himself from Shika while in that state of mind, he probably thinks he deserves it. Shika definitely thinks he deserves it. XDD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Black Birds**

-

The next few weeks were calm, they eventually went back to school, the Hosts returned to their usual antics, Shika's time became split between the Art Club, Spell practice with the Black Magic Club and Martial Arts Practice. He was approached by the Track Team once and somehow found himself on the 500-meter sprint and breaking at least three school records. His endurance running had also become something of legend with them as well which was a little confusing, they acted as if being able to sprint 2800 meters was something special.

He was surprised to find little Nekozawa Kirimi wondering around the school though and instantly tried to take her to her older brother, but at the first sight of the cloaked teenager she screamed and ran off.

Half an hour later he found her in the Host Club spouting off language no three-year-old should know, then the idiot Hosts decided to get it into their heads to '_condition_' Umehito-san out of his reaction to light so that he may spend more time with his sister.

A noble sentiment, but it still didn't stop him from tossing the twins across the room when they thrust a flashlight into the photophobic boy's face. You couldn't _condition_ an allergy of light out of someone! The fact that the Nekozawa servants _stated_ that too much light would _kill_ the Russian Senior went completely ignored by everyone save Shikamaru himself.

As it stood, he reluctantly agreed to baby-sit Kirimi with Haruhi when Umehito-san begged it of him, saying that he would feel better having Shikamaru protecting her even if Ouran was supposed to have very good security.

The green eyed teenager scooped up the little girl from Tamaki's arms, giving her pigtails a playful tug and pulling a funny face to cheer her out of her tears. He didn't notice the impact that Nekozawa's words had on the Host Club, nor his careful treatment of the three-year-old as he left the room with her, chatting quietly about all the things she liked.

Unlike Haruhi, he never bothered reading her any Shoujo-manga, obviously they were rotting her brain and he didn't like the way in every Shoujo the lead female needed rescuing by some strong romantic blonde Prince. It wasn't realistic and Kirimi shouldn't grow up thinking someone was always going to be there to save her, so he made up his own fairy-tales that both Haruhi and Kirimi enjoyed a lot more than any manga.

Both of them had a particular favourite in the story of the Princess, the Witch of Fate and the Brave Commoner(1).

It was when Shika had to step out to deal with an incident concerning Isao and one of their targets that Kirimi and Umehito managed to resolve their differences culminating in the older brother saving his little sister from a stray kneazle kitten(2).

With the drama of the Nekozawas' resolved – Umehito still calling him every time Kirimi needed babysitting and she specifically asked for '_Modorime-niichama_'.

She still preferred the Princess the Witch and the Commoner story and in the end, Shikamaru ended up writing it into a book complete with illustrations for her. She adored it.

-

**((WARNING: The next scene has ****EXTREMELY**** graphic scenes of Harry's time with the Death Eaters. I.e. he's telling his therapist what happened, how they tortured him and the others and killed them before he snapped and slaughtered them.))**

"Are you alright Shika-kun? You're looking a little under the weather lately." Orihime-san pointed out in concern, nibbling at the tip of her pen.

"It's nothing. I just haven't been sleeping all that well." Or at all for that latter. Last time he'd fallen asleep was........ Last week...... for... twenty, thirty minutes... he'd been running off Pepper-ups, coffee and a solid knowledge of acupuncture and a sharp needle ever since.

Orihime hummed thoughtfully and gave him a flat look, "I thought we agreed this was to be a no lying area Shikamaru-san." She reminded him, only slightly reprimanding.

He winced but didn't answer.

He didn't want to broach the topic of his screaming nightmares just yet, the distended faces of people he knew in life and in death... memories of being tortured and raped, the Cruciatus burning and scolding at his nerve endings. Watching others he knew and loved suffering the same treatment... the heart crushing death tolls, the knowledge that a good friend had just passed, the dead body of a little girl no older than little Kirimi, her body still warm but her eyes lifeless and uncomprehending of her own death...

"I see faces... Dead faces. Blood everywhere. Screaming... the smell of death, piss and burning flesh..." he finally spoke, his voice disturbingly loud to his own ears in the heavy silence of the office. He pressed the heel of his palm against his eye and stared down at the carpet, "I can't sleep. It's too hot. I close my eyes and see their ends, I remember Graphorn hide whips going across my back, I remember teeth in the back of my neck, my throat ripping and tearing from screaming too long and too loud. I remember her crying and screaming, writhing on the floor under _Crucio_ for their amusement, cold stone against my chest and stomach, pain running up my spine. The screaming rarely ever stopped, and there was always laughter. Always.

"I... I don't like sleeping." He admitted quietly, his knees drawn up to his chest protectively, making himself as small as possible.

Orihime placed a hand on his knee and gently pulled his legs away from his chest, "Keep going Shika-kun. What happened?" She pressed gently.

"It was last year. Just after Valentines day. We had been running low on supplies so Natalie-imouto, myself, Sprout-hakase, Thomas Dean and Tonks Ted all went to Hogsmeade, a small village where the leader of the resistance had a younger brother willing to pass us supplies and information. We were ambushed before we reached them, I don't know how long they'd been waiting for us but it had been a while. They... they killed Tonks-san in the first volley of spells, we fought hard, I killed a few of them but Natalie-imouto was only 13, she didn't know much in the way of Defensive or Offensive Magic, she didn't have the power to back them up even if she did. They grabbed her and Sprout-Hakase and used them as Hostages. We dropped out weapons and allowed them to take us.

"They took us to Voldemort-teme's Base of operations in the Nott Mansion. Dragged us up in front of the snake-faced bastard himself, he... he _Imperio_'ed my sister, told her to... to _pleasure_ him." a Bitter smile came to Shika's lips, "She spat him in the face and told him she would rather die first. He held her under _crucio_ for five minutes in return before having us thrown into one of the Dungeon cells in the basement, we became _honoured_ guests.

"They killed Sprout-Hakase first. She was in her seventies and out of all of us, she was the one who hated combat the most, she was the gentlest. They did it in front of us. Stripped her naked, flayed the skin from her body and tossed mild Acid over her, she wouldn't stop screaming, they tore out her teeth with Summoning Charms... one of them... Mulciber... he... he fucked her mouth, gagged and choked her with blood and semen. They held her under Crucio for hours, laughing when she jerked and twitched, they raped her... again and again and again, sometimes with objects... sometimes not... they forced us to watch, they forced us to watch them torment her before finally boiling the very blood in her veins after sixteen hours of relentless horror. It took twenty minutes for her to stop screaming and another ten to finally die...

"They left us for a while, _entertained_ the other people in the Dungeons, we could hear the screaming, the crying, the laughter. Then they came back.

"All of us were tortured this time; they forced my sister to watch as Bellatrix Lestrange took a knife to my back, peeling away skin and flesh to get to my spine. They used needles to jab at my nerves, making my arms and legs move like some kind of broken puppet. They forced us to watch as they strung Dean up to the ceiling and pressed burning knives and brands against his skin, they forced me to watch as my sister was repeatedly gang-raped, bitten, carved into, cursed...

"They were experts at what they did. I'll give them that." He breathed quietly.

"There's more isn't there?" Orihime asked softly.

He nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest, resting his chin against the rough fabric of the denim, Orihime allowed him this small defensive gesture from the horrors of his past.

"At the time, we didn't know how long we'd been there, later I found out it was two months... it felt like two years to be honest. The cells were dank and dark, they reeked of blood and shit and death. The Death Eaters came back to our cells a lot, Rookwood, Rosier and Carrow liked their fuck-toys small, tight and dark haired. Avery liked to keep trophies too... he took a hack-saw to my shoulder and tried to saw it off to pin against his wall, he'd already taken my bestfriend's arm and pinned it above his bed... I don't remember what stopped him; I think it could have been the fact that my blood was poisonous in large amounts... I almost died from blood-loss then and there but that stupid Prophesy... it saved my life by doubling the potency of the Phoenix Tears Fawkes put into my blood when I was 12, a lot of my injuries healed, I don't have any burn marks because they were reabsorbed into my body as if they'd never been, the same with my internal injuries.

"Dean died not long after the first month we were there... Voldemort brought his dad in himself... Thomas-san was a death eater from the First Rise, he worried about his wife and unborn son and ran away... they found him and forced him under _Imperio_ to kill his own son before handing him a knife to deal with himself. He cut his own throat right in front of us and... I don't think we even cared. Natalie didn't even flinch; her eyes were dead even if her body was still living, still breathing. She hadn't spoken for days, I would have to feed her because she refused to move herself from against the wall, she didn't even bother fighting when they raped her anymore, didn't scream when they held her under _Crucio_. It was like everything that was her had already died.

"A schoolmate of mine killed her not long before I broke out. Malfoy Draco. He came into our cell when I was trying to get her to drink some water, he just... watched us for a while before his father came in, I hadn't even noticed them watching us until Lucius used a spell to slam me across the other side of the room and tie me there. I had to watch as that ferret faced coward took a knife and shoved it between her legs before slashing it up to her throat. She bled out in seconds. But... just before she died she finally looked at me... she looked at me and she _smiled_. She died with a smile on her face. I- I just...

"_Snapped._"

-

The two Malfoys left the room, Draco keeping his face carefully blank, but his posture was still, his hands shaking and his skin paper white. Natalie's body floated after them, naked, pale, dripping dark crimson across the floor and Harry's body crumpled to the floor as the spells holding him against the wall finally shattered.

He didn't move, his cheek pressed against the cold wet stone, all the energy in his body had left him.

He was hallow and dead inside.

He couldn't do anything more than breathe and stare at the dark slash of fresh wet blood against the other wall, he blinked hazily, blood that was dry...

The door opened and someone came in.

He didn't bother looking.

"_Hem hem_" That cough. That irritating, horrific cough that always preceded a whipping, that always followed having alcohol or acids thrown against his open and bleeding spine.

There was a clack against the floor.

Green eyes shifted and silver caught his attention.

A knife.

A hunting knife, wooden grip, thin silver blade with a single edge...

A cruel smirk curled on toady features.

"-------"

He didn't hear what she said. His blood was pounding thick and churlishly through his veins, his eyes fixed on that single silver blade. A hand clamped on his hair and dragged his face up, deadened green eyes meeting gleeful water blue... blue so much like his uncle... blue like his sister...

Green blazed.

His hand was hot and wet; those blue eyes were wide in confused shock and horror.

His lips pulled away from his teeth in a vicious grin of self-loathing and feral excitement.

"_Squeal Piggy _**sSsQuEaL**." He hissed, an unhinged smirk stretching across his lips as the scent of fear and piss invaded his nostrils.

Delores Umbridge was dead before she hit the ground, her head landing two feet away from her body, a trail of bloody crimson footprints leading away from her seeping body. A vicious giggle floating through the cell corridors as the slender wraith-like figure in his torn bloodied robes swayed and staggered down the corridor, green eyes practically glowing as a bloody knife dripped scarlet onto the stone floor.

Mulciber and an unknown Death Eater had been the first to suffer, they'd heard his drunken insane giggling and come to investigate, their shock and momentary hesitation at the homicidal lunatic in front of them proved to be their downfall as the green eyed teenager moved much faster than anyone or anything really had a right to. The two Death Eaters were sliced into ribbons amidst a shriek of laughter.

The dark haired teenager swayed sickeningly, a drunken giggle escaping his lips as he turned to stare into the Cell and saw the children within, all dead. His giggles hitched into sobs before yet again turning into deranged laughter – he would make them suffer, suffer like their victims, they would have no mercy in heaven or hell, he would kill them all and let whatever otherworldly forces there were deal with them then.

He giggled and raced off.

**((---Scene End---))**

-

"I... I came out of it later. I was curled up in the corner of a Ritual Chamber holding a corpse to my chest, they'd preserved Natalie, Dean and Professor Sprout, they'd been planning on turning them into Inferi – magical Zombies – for Voldemort's army."

Shikamaru explained, his voice shaky and unsteady from where he had hidden his face in his knees to hide the tears that poured from his eyes, blotting against the knees of his jeans.

"I – I just held her and there was so much blood, I threw up. I had to get out of there so... So I grabbed their bodies and I _tore_ the Wards down, I left that hell hole and I apparated to the Burrow, the only safe place I had ever known and then I just... I passed out holding those bodies close to me. When I woke up... touch was painful, I... I broke Molly's arm when she tried to hug me. I completely freaked out and attacked the one person I saw as a mother."

Orihime got to her feet and took a seat beside him, conjuring a large fluffy pillow for him to hug. She cancelled her next appointment as the broken teenager cried his heart out on her couch, able to do little else than offer him a pillow to hug and a tissue to dry his eyes.

-

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

Orihime looked up at her secretary as she laid out a tray of tea and onigiri for her; she shook her head sadly and accepted one of the tea cups.

"I don't know. He's been through some extremely traumatic experiences; I'm quite frankly shocked and horrified that a child would have to suffer through such things. Even more so that he had to come looking for psychiatric help himself. But..."

"Shit happens." Her secretary finished, perhaps not as eloquently as she could have but never the less accurate.

"Indeed." The therapist rubbed at her eyes, "Kohane-chan, would you please give the ATOC a call, I want Shikamaru off their active duty roster for at least a month. I know he is their best in the Field and interrogative situations but his psyche is just too fragile at the moment to be dealing with such things. If he flashbacks... the consequences could be disastrous."

"Of course Orihime-san."

"And Kohane-chan," She added as the secretary made to leave,

"Hai?"

"I want you to contact both the Ootori Hospitals and the Ouran Academy. I need them to update Shikamaru-kun's medical records in regards to his mental health. He exhibits signs of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome ontop of his insomnia and Aphephobia, also, I would advise not placing him in any hostile situations for the health of the other students."

"Of course." The woman bowed and left the office, leaving the therapist to reach into her desk draw and pull out a sake bottle.

She was going to need it tonight.

-

Takashi watched his cousin in amusement as the diminutive blonde practically bounced around him in excitement.

The two of them had just been on a cake run, Haruhi-chan had recommended a small cake-shop not too far away from the local Ourin and Mitsukuni had been particularly interested in checking it out. The cakes had been cheap and surprisingly well made for a Commoner establishment and the little blonde had already tried one not long after buying it, he then proceeded to buy a good 70-percent of everything there, it was only Takashi pointing out that other people may want some cake too that stopped him from getting _everything_.

As it stood, Takashi carried a large cake-box under one arm and requested all the other cakes be delivered to the Morinozuka residence – Mitsukuni's driver Hiashi had been only too happy to do so – leaving the two Seniors to wonder the streets of their own volition.

"Do you think we could get Chika to try some carrot cake? It's not very sweet so he might like it!" Mitsukuni chirped happily, Takashi's lips twitched somewhat in a small indulgent smile(3).

"Aa, maybe." He admitted, though privately he didn't think that Yasuchika-kun would eat cake of any kind. Mitsukuni laughed happily chattering happily about how he was going to get his younger brother to eat cake and stop being so uptight, Takashi privately thought that if the older Haninozuka asked Satoshi would be more than happy to pin his bestfriend down and force the cake down his throat. But he wisely didn't air that thought.

"Ara? Isn't that Shika-chan?" The childish Senior asked, pointing out a long black haired teenager walking slowly down the street as if in a daze or deep in thought.

Takashi frowned slightly; he certainly _carried_ himself like the foul tempered Second Year. But there was something off...

The dark haired teen lurched to the side and abruptly walked out into the middle of the fast moving heavy traffic.

Takashi dropped the cake box, uncaring at the loss of Mitsukuni's cream treats, and lunged after the Second Year. Break pads screeched and car horns blared.

"TAKASHI!!" Mitsukuni shouted, bolting over the road to where his cousin was pushing himself into a sitting position on the pavement on the other side of the busy one-way street, his arms locked protectively around the limp form of their schoolmate.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked in concern getting onto his hands and knees beside the dark haired Senior, eyes fixed on his bloody gouged forearms from where he'd hit the floor.

"Aa." He assured the blonde with a small nod before looking at the unresponsive teenager in his lap while Mitsukuni turned to deal with the angry car driver.

It was definitely Akegata Shikamaru, but he looked a mess.

His usually pale skin was an almost grey-ish pallor, his hair was loose for once and in an absolute disarray, his eyes were red and puffy from crying and his green eyes were glassy and dull. He wasn't even reacting to the fact that he was in someone's lap, in fact... yes, he was shaking, ever so slightly but he was shaking and his skin was disturbingly cold to the touch.

"Shikamaru." He stated, giving the boy a slight squeeze, the teenager inhaled sharply and shuddered attempting to jerk out of his lap on sheer reflex. Takashi tightened his grip before the Second Year could harm himself, "Calm down." He ordered, the teenager pausing somewhat even if his shaking increased and looked up at him in surprise.

"M-Morinozuka-san?"

"Aa. Are you alright?" He asked releasing the 17-year-old who quickly scooted away from him, still shaking as he wrung his hands looking around at the chaos in mounting embarrassment.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry Morinozuka-san, I didn't realise, I just – " He shook his head, his hands still shaking as he clenched them tightly and fidgeted, "I was spacing out. I'm sorry."

Takashi watched the Second Year fidget, looking anywhere but at him or at the angry drivers not too far away, still shaking, his hands fluttering in agitation. He looked completely pitiable.

"It's fine." He assured the Second Year, getting to his feet, not even reacting to the painful throbbing that came from his forearms. The dark haired 18-year-old dug into his pockets, fishing for his mobile phone and send a quick text to his driver to come and pick them up, he watched the green eyed student in the corner of his eye as he pushed himself back to his feet, his eyes once again going dull as memories swallowed his consciousness, his corners of his mouth pulling downwards sadly.

"Is he OK Takashi?" Hani asked quietly appearing at Mori's elbow, having finished dealing with the driver of the car who was now speeding away on the verge of breaking the speed limit – obviously Mitsukuni had gone 'Black' to some degree in handling him.

"I don't think so." He admitted. "He's been crying."

Mitsukuni shook his head, eyeing the Second year sadly, from his point of view; it looked like he had _purposefully_ stepped out in front of moving traffic. Ever since Satoshi had called him up about possibly setting Takashi up with the dark haired Second Year Mitsukuni had been keeping a discreet eye on him – so much so that no one, not even Takashi, actually noticed – what he'd seen worried him. All in all, Hani had thought that there was very little chance of Takashi and Shikamaru ever being able to have a meaningful relationship and told Satoshi that maybe he should give up his plans.

This incident only proved it.

There was a flutter of wings and a familiar white owl was perched on the dark haired teenager's shoulder, cooing and clamouring for attention, nibbling at the teenager's ear, snapping him out of whatever pit he had descended into.

"Hedwig." He greeted quietly, running a hand down her chest before sighing. "Thank you Morinozuka-san, Haninozuka-san. I should be on my way. I'll see you at school."

Mitsukuni eyed the teenager and shook his head, grabbing at the hem of his T-shirt, in his current state it would be too dangerous for him to be wondering around on his own. He might try something again.

He plastered a bright, happy smile on his lips, "Do you want to eat cake with us!?" He asked happily, oozing adorability, '_you want to say yes, you will say yes_' repeating over and over in his head as he mentally willed the reclusive Second year to join them.

"I had better not. Thank you for the offer though Haninozuka-san." He said quietly, tiredly.

Hani pouted a little surprised that the teenager could refuse him before he whipped out the big guns, his eyes watered somewhat and he stared up pleadingly at the 17-year-old, "Y-you don't want to eat cakes with us?" He wibbled desolately, he could see Takashi rolling his eyes in amusement over Shika-chan's shoulder, well aware of what Hani was up to.

The green eyed teenager shifted uncomfortably, "I-I'm not that hungry but... I – I guess I could hang around a _little_ bit." He compromised. If he ate something now, after reliving everything from last year, he would probably throw up.

Mitsukuni cheered, swinging Usa-chan around in a circle and laughing happily, watching the teenager from the corner of his eye, Shika-chan smiled somewhat uncomfortably but genuinely, if a little embarrassed.

When Takashi's driver showed up the small group of three climbed in Mitsukuni talking a mile a minute, asking all sorts of questions. During the twenty minute drive to the Morinozuka estate, Hani learned that Shikamaru had gotten Hedwig as a birthday present when he was 11 from a dear old friend who worked as the Groundskeeper of his school, he was friends with a Chess champion and a certified girl-genius, he could tell the difference between the twins easily because he'd dealt with a pair of red headed twins back home, he used to play on his school sports team, he liked the colour green but since it was the colour of their rival sports team he didn't wear it much – school rivalries got messy, he only got into art at the suggestion of the school nurse because he ended up getting injured a lot during the sporting matches, he had a godson called Teddy back in England who had just hit eight-months, he didn't have a very high opinion of politicians and that he missed his friends back in Europe a lot.

When they reached the Morinozuka place the small group of three and an owl ran into Satoshi who was practicing in the garden.

"TAKA-NII!!" The hyperactive boy yelled happily, bounding over to his older brother like an excited puppy, receiving a pat on the head for his troubles. "Hi Mitsukuni! Your cakes showed up a little earlier, they're all in Taka-nii's room. Ara? Shika what are you doin' here? I thought you had therapy with Orihime-san today."

Therapy?

Shikamaru's smile was a little strained, "I did, I just... didn't expect us to cover what we did." He explained, wisely refraining from telling the '_Puppy_' that his older brother had saved his life – if he did that Satoshi would never shut up about his older brother, while cute that he looked up to the elder Morinozuka, it was still a pain having to deal with him when he started to rant. The other two didn't tell him because they didn't think their younger brother/cousin should hear about his friend purposely trying to kill himself(4).

Satoshi's exuberant smile faded and he looked so serious for a moment it took his relatives aback somewhat.

"The scars?" He asked quietly.

Shika winced and rubbed at his shoulder, "Yeah." He admitted.

Takashi and Mitsukuni exchanged looks, scars?

"Well then! You'll just have to stay the night!" Satoshi decided grinning wickedly; it took a monumental effort on Hani's part not to shoot the 14-year-old a _Look_. Well aware of what he was up to, but instead opted to keep quiet, it was probably safer for Shika anyway if he stayed near-by, whatever he'd discussed in his therapy had obviously greatly disturbed him. "You can use the Meditation room to sort your head out, it's better than using your bathroom y'know." He added giving the 17-year-old a disapproving glower.

Shika snorted, "This coming from the guy who ate Natto mixed with lasagne?" He asked sceptically, somewhat teasingly actually if the very faint tilt to his lips was any indication to Hani's eyes.

Satoshi grinned, "I'll have you know it was very good." He declared and grabbed at the teenager's hands to drag him inside, "Have you met Jiichan and baachan properly? No of course not! C'mon, you have to meet them they're awesome! You'd really like Baachan you're a lot alike only you're way more serious kinda like Taka-nii but it's a good kind of serious! After all he's –

Takashi and Mitsukuni exchanged glances as the sound of Satoshi's voice faded along with the sight of him dragging the Second Year.

-

(1) **I'll post this story at a later date 8DD**

(2) **Kneazle Kitten:** I figure that since the Nekozawas' are magical, magical cats will love them and I can't see an ordinary stray cat going into Ouran to see little Kirimi...

(3) **Mori being so expressive:** He's really not, he's just with people who can read him pretty well so it seems like he's more emotive from their point of views.

(4) **Shika killing himself:** That's what it looks like to them. He walked out into the middle of fast moving traffic without looking, almost purposefully. They thought he tried to commit suicide so now they're determined to keep a closer eye on him. (He was in a daze and suffering through flashbacks. Not fun.)

-

**Yes. The chapter of epic badness in which we find out what happened to Shika. For those of you asking, yes it is Mori/Harry (Takashi/Shika, whichever). Tears for Professor Sprout, Dean and Natalie. (Btw, don't hate Draco, just to warn you. He's not really a bad guy, he's just in a really bad situation. I'm trying to keep the characters as close to canon as I can - Harry certainly wouldn't be the same golden boy he had been if he'd gone through what Shika had. So, Draco isn't evil, he's just preserving his own life. As any good Slytherin would.)**

**Reviews make the Authoress wake up in the mornings.**

Araceil


	11. Chapter 11

**Black Birds**

-

Spending the evening with the Morinozukas' – plus one Haninozuka – was an experience for Shikamaru.

From what Satoshi had explained to him, their grandfather had married Chika's grandmother thus joining their two families. They had three children, the eldest being Itsuki Morinozuka, Satoshi and Takashi's father, followed by young Kotoko, the Princess of the Morinozuka clan who had married into the Kakuyoku family not long after her graduation at Ouran (She was actually Haku-chan's mother), and then by Masahiro Morinozuka, referred to by Satoshi as the '_fun_' uncle.

When Itsuki married his wife Suzuki a few years out of University, the two Morinozuka elders handed control of the family estate to their eldest son and daughter-in-law. A number of years later Takashi was born and while the two were very absorbed in their work, they at least made an effort to raise their first son. By the time Satoshi had been born they had become comfortable with juggling Business and Family, but with two little ones things swiftly got out of balance again. Satoshi and Takashi often ended up being cared for by their grandparents or with the Haninozukas' – where Takashi met Mitsukuni and the two formed a solid friendship – Itsuki and Suzuki truly cared for their children but they just didn't have the time for them, so Itsuki asked his mother and father to care for them in his stead.

They had been thrilled and promised to care for them – even if their Grandfather's good opinion of his firstborn soured considerably at the perceived '_shirking of his parental duties_'.

Morinozuka Kimihiro, their grandfather, was built rather like Takashi, tall, broad, with short black hair and dark flinty-grey eyes, his hair however was peppered with grey and white, and his eyes always seemed to possess that little spark of humour, the eyes of a prankster Shika noted immediately. His face was fairly wrinkled, showing him to be a rather expressive individual unlike his eldest grandchild; his skin was tanned betraying a life outside and his hands heavily calloused revealing years of swordsmanship. He was a quirky individual who seemed a lot like Satoshi, very energetic and lively for a gentleman in his early 70's – especially a Muggle – who also happened to possess a very perverted sense of humour, if the comments and sly glances he shot to his grandchildren were any example. He welcomed Shikamaru with open arms – quite literally – from where he stood beside his wife Morinozuka Airi, formerly Haninozuka Airi, at the front door to the main house.

Morinozuka Airi was a diminutive woman with soft chestnut blonde hair similar to Mitsukuni's, she possessed warm serene brown eyes and a delicate face, her hands were deceptively small and bird-like considering the strength they possessed to break bones. Her face was equally as lined as her husbands, showing her to have lived a life of joy and laughter, she, like her husband, was still fighting fit and the calluses on her knuckles proved that she kept in practice. She seemed much more like Takashi in that she was very quiet and spoke sparingly in a gentle feather-light clear voice that seemed to instantly bridle her energetic husband and youngest grandson. However, unlike Kimihiro-san, Satoshi seemed to have inherited Airi-san's personality, she was somewhat absent minded, always moving from one topic to another like the butterflies printed on her summer kimono.

The family reminded him almost painfully of the Weasleys and he had to, on more than one occasion, stop himself from just leaving to save himself the heartache as he watched Kimihiro-san tease and joke with his grandchildren while Airi occasionally spoke up to tone it down. So much like Molly with the twins and Arthur having to step in once in a while to cool the tempers.

Mitsukuni had been watching him closely and stared at him in confusion, "Wait, you're in the same Karate club as Chika and Satoshi? But that's the Junior High School club." He pointed out. Shikamaru went a little pink while Satoshi grinned wolfishly.

"The Highschool group wouldn't take him since he was a beginner. Chika didn't like the thought of someone who was genuine about learning being turned away so practically forced Shika-chan ("Satoshi," The green eyed teen growled at the nickname but was ignored.) into becoming his student." He explained, grinning at the slightly shorter teenager who folded his arms and sulked. Satoshi laughed and glomped him, making the teenager stiffen and grit his teeth, glaring murder at the younger Morinozuka who laughed and rubbed his cheek against the older male's hair.

Takashi frowned somewhat, "He let's you touch him." He asked, though it sounded more like a statement to anyone not adept at reading people or knowing Morinozukas'.

Satoshi looked at his brother from where he was still draped on the teenager, "Hm? No. Not really." He grinned broadly, "He's just stopped tossing me across the room for it."

The look on his brother's face made him wish desperately for a camera as Shika's face burned a dark red.

Satoshi nodded smugly, "Yup. He even threw Chika into the wall at the other end of the Dojo once." Satoshi paused, remembering how that came about and his eyes went wide, "We learned pinning was bad. Very, very **bad**." He told the older two seriously as Shika looked away out of sheer embarrassment – ignoring the way Kimihiro-san hooted with laughter in the background only to be shushed by his wife. Satoshi gave his brother a very considering look and shook his head, "I doubt even you could pin Shika Taka-nii. Not without losing the ability to reproduce anyway."

Takashi leaned back slightly, his eyes widening in shock – which was akin to leaping to one's feet and screeching "**WHAAAT****!!**" for his brother – while Mitsukuni's eyes turned into saucers to stare at Shikamaru who was by now reinventing the colour red and trying to shove Satoshi off him.

"It was one time! One time and it wasn't even one of you two! It was reflex!" He snapped to the black haired 14-year-old who laughed wickedly.

"It was your reflex to twist your body into a physically impossible position, ram your foot into your attacker's crotch and slam him across the room?" He asked.

Shikamaru gave Satoshi an extremely dirty look, knowing better than to give the real answer to that question(1).

The smug look on Satoshi's face only made him want to say something extremely inappropriate and embarrassing for him, but he held his tongue and smiled unpleasantly. He wouldn't do anything, he would just make the younger teen _think_ he would – judging by the way Satoshi started to look worried and shifty it was working.

Shika just shook his head and smiled slightly before getting to his feet, "Fun as torturing Satoshi is ("Hey!") I should be heading home. It was nice meeting you Morinozuka-sama –

"Call me Kimihiro boy!" The eldest in the room boomed, waving cheerfully at him, "Morinozuka-sama makes me sound like some hoity-toity stuffed shirt." He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

Shikamaru smiled hesitantly, "Er sure Kimihiro-san."

Satoshi pouted, "Why don't you stay the night Shika?" He whined giving the boy pleading eyes, Shika shook his head.

"I should head home. Ranka and Haruhi will worry if I'm not back and I don't have my uniform for tomorrow with me." He said by means of explanation, looking suspiciously at Satoshi the younger teenager was up to something and he was fairly sure he didn't want a part in it. "And those eyes don't work on me kiddo. Better men and women than you have given me the look." He teased flicking the boy in the forehead playfully.

Satoshi pouted, "Oh yeah!? Who!?" He challenged, Shika smirked smugly.

"My sister for on– " He cut himself off, eyes widening before he looked away sharply, mouth closing shut firmly with a clack of teeth. "I should go." He mumbled before crossing the room, passing Takashi and Mitsukuni who had gotten to their feet, grey and brown eyes catching the bleached white knuckles and firmly clenched jaw – his hair falling forward as he bowed his head, obscuring his eyes from them.

Satoshi looked like he had just kicked someone else's puppy and promptly chased after the teenager.

"S-Shika! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories! Shika."

"It's cool Kid." Shikamaru stated, his voice soothing, warm, fake. "I should be over it by now to be honest." He admitted, flinching as the memory of that smile, the one that burned into his memory, was brought into sharp vivid life behind his eyelids. "Anyway, I need to head home and start dinner. Ranka asked me if I could make some treacle tart for them and it takes a while for the treacle to set. I'll see you at practice. Thank you for having me Morinozuka-senpai, Satoshi, Kimihiro-san, Airi-san. Night." He spoke quickly, stamping into his shoes without looking at them and practically fled the building while Satoshi hung his head and berated himself.

"What was that all about?" Kimihiro asked in surprise.

"Satoshi?" Takashi looked at his brother who winced and shrank in on himself, when his brother used that tone it meant he wanted answers and wasn't taking no for an answer. He shuffled uncomfortably, mouth sealed shut, "Satoshi." Takashi repeated, the barest tracing of a frown etching into his features.

"She's dead. His sister. They murdered her in front of him." He blurted out quickly before turning and bolting from his older brother. He hadn't wanted to tell but it was his brother, he couldn't lie to Taka-nii and there was no way he would take no for an answer, not when it could possibly be dangerous to him or Mitsukuni. That was one of the great things about his brother, he decided as he took a seat in the meditation room, mind and emotions in turmoil and guilt, but it was also one of his worst qualities if he was honest. He was like a dog with a bone; he worried at it until he had the answers he needed, the ones that mattered to protecting the family and his small circle of friends.

The door slid open and Satoshi didn't even have to look up to know it was his older brother.

Takashi folded his legs beneath him as he sat beside his younger brother, the smaller of the two staring miserably at the floor in guilt for breaking the trust of a friend. The elder of the two feeling guilty himself, he knew his brother would never lie to him and he had pushed him into telling him something he so obviously didn't want to tell.

The older Morinozuka sighed quietly and scruffed his younger brother's hair, "I'm sorry." He muttered softly, for Satoshi's ears only.

A bare moment later, Takashi had the 14-year-old throwing his arms around his shoulders.

-

The next few days were rather...

Odd.

Wherever Shikamaru went, for some reason there was always a member of the Host Club appearing near-by, usually it was Tamaki and Kyouya who as his classmates had the most opportunity, then the two seniors Morinozuka and Haninozuka. Haruhi hung around him a lot and by proxy the twins did as well – which was a bit of a pain as they'd heard from Haninozuka-senpai that he could tell them apart and spent roughly two hours trying to dupe him only to suffer a temper-tantrum when he proceeded to pick them apart every time, without hesitation or mistake.

Really, compared with Fred and George... they were just too easy.

He'd even arrived home to find Tamaki hovering at his front door with a wide smile and an invitation to join him and Kyouya's older sister in touring the Commoner Food-stands. Shikamaru had declined; he had a lot of paperwork due in.

After being demoted to desk duty, everyone else seemed to take it upon themselves to keep him busy with mind-numbing paperwork, requisition forms, transcripts from interrogations, warrants, basically anything that they themselves didn't _specifically_ need to do. Lazy bastards. So Shika usually ended up burning the midnight oil on a regular basis so he didn't end up getting avalanched under it all – Orihime-chan obviously had obviously forgotten the kind of people Shikamaru worked with when she made that call to pull him off the Active roster.

If that wasn't enough, the Ouran School Festival was coming up and Tamaki was practically vibrating with excitement over it all, apparently there was talk about a Commoner's Food exhibition which Shika thought was in very poor taste – no pun intended.

Shikamaru somehow ended up being roped into the general planning and graphics portion of the setting up – unsurprising since he was the only member of the Art Club in 2A and he was one of the few people who had actually been to a Commoner's foodstall and thus knew how it was supposed to look and how it should be built. Somehow he also got drafted into organizing everyone – something about Ayame commenting on how he directed people like an old General caused Kyouya and Tamaki to swiftly kick him into it, judging from the starry-eyed expression on Tamaki's face they weren't regretting it. Unsurprising, Shikamaru would have been severely insulted if he couldn't handle ordering around a bunch of rich-brats and their workforce after dealing with the Order of the Phoenix, the Auror Forces and his own Defence Association and _making_ them all work together seamlessly regardless of the bad blood and age-differences between them all.

Then there was some kind of drama between the Host Club and the Football club trying to get the Central Saloon. He kept out of it as much as possibly but he ended up having to practically shove Tamaki out of his face when he caught the captain of the Football team trying to convince Shika to join them – apparently his speed was something they were interested in, they'd also heard that he tossed the younger Morinozuka and Haninozuka's around during Martial Arts practice. Shika said no, point blank and flat. Brittle Bones in Football...... Regardless of how Football was essentially rugby with padding (Pussy's Rugby according to Oliver and Seamus(2)) that... and Kuze-san kind of frightened him.

Not in a Voldemort way.

More of a... '_Oh my God he's so fucking __WEIRD_' kind of way. The kind of fright you would get from a crazy drunk guy who sat next to you on the subway.

Considering his OCD with the Oranges... yeah, that wasn't too far from the truth to be honest.

Come the day of the big contest, Shika didn't even bother to go and instead remained in the school to finish up the last touches with the '_Kiosks of the Common Folk_' attraction. If Tamaki was so determined to offer the businesses and eating habits of the average person up for ridicule, then Shikamaru was going to make sure everything was as accurate as humanly possible. That way, no one could claim that they didn't really experience things as they really were.

He briefly met Tamaki's father Suou Yuzuha while doing so and had a short but pleasant conversation about the goings on in England – as the chairman of the school, Yuzuha-san was privy to Shikamaru's real name, his real job and what he really was. Annoying but necessary and thus the older man actually treated him with the same kind of respect one would actually give to a highly ranked Military Official – not that Shika actually knew that until he made a passing comment to Fae who explained it.

Then the day of the Festival arrived and Shikamaru found himself getting stuffed into a pale green yukata with darker green leaf imprints across it and shoved behind one of the Shooting Stalls.

After having to deal with snotty old men and women along with spoilt younger brothers and sisters claiming his stall was rigged and severely getting all over his last nerve, it was a pleasant surprise to find the Hitachiin Twins and Haninozuka appearing at his stall. The three chatted briefly while they handled the air rifles and made their shots, Haninozuka-senpai was very good, unsurprising of one who's main focus in life was a sport that required solid hand-eye co-ordination, and the twins were good too, no doubt from years of pranking others.

Eventually he was let off to grab some lunch and then help Fae's mother Ellimere handle the horses for the Host Club's carriages, they had agreed to use the best chestnut geldings they had as they were less likely to cause trouble than the stallions or the mares. It helped that he and Ellimere had placed a little charm on them to prevent certain _messes_ from occurring while on the Ouran grounds – the Waste would be vanished before it was excreted to save their Customer's eyes and noses.

It was then he noticed several members of the Host Club, and Tamaki rushing to meet an older woman he could only assume was his grandmother.

Shikamaru made his way over, only to freeze when he heard the woman speaking.

"Don't touch me. The son of a Harlot who vanished deserting her own son... _shameless_." The woman hissed poisonously.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, that same tone of voice, the contempt, the scorn and outright barely concealed loathing in that woman's tone. Even the cold disgust reflected in her dark eyes...

It was like looking into the face of Petunia Dursley when he was little more than a child.

Tamaki was silent and stock still, Shikamaru's heart went out to him and he stepped forward, Haruhi a bare moment behind him, then Tamaki began being... Tamaki-ish. Wailing and blubbering about how she must hate him for being beautiful, or smelling of Squid.

Shikamaru brushed his hand, only touching the tip of his fingers against the Frenchman's hand before he could latch onto Haruhi and start shaking her around, the blonde paused and looked at him in surprise.

"Family can be the worst Tamaki-senpai. Don't break your heart trying to obtain her's." He spoke softly, his eyes serious as he looked up at his classmate, withdrawing his hand, "The carriages are ready." He added jerking a thumb to the white and gold guilded carriages – frankly considering the colours Shikamaru would have suggested the Hosts put a bit more cash into hiring out the Palominos they had at the stables, or even the White Thorough-breds.

He stood back and folded his arms as the Hosts practically flung off their clothing and changed into something he would have expected to see on Nearly-Headless Nick if he got a little more with the times. He shook his head and moved to leave before he promptly found himself being scooped up and swung around, an action that swiftly stopped when Shikamaru panicked and slammed his foot down against his 'attacker's foot, rammed an elbow into his stomach and slammed his head back into his face.

"Owww!"

Shikamaru abruptly paled as he heard the familiar groan, "Oh gods Kenichi I'm sorry!" He cried quickly moving to help the older man up from where he'd toppled backwards from the headbutt. The chocolate haired Shinobi was looking unusually well groomed in his 'official' uniform, his hair pulled back, he even smelt vaguely of vanilla (He was going to have Kai all over him later, Shikamaru could just _tell_.) behind him, the green eyed teenager could also see his boss and a few of his other co-workers.

"Damn, you have a mean headbutt kiddo. I'm so glad I don't have to be in any of _your_ lessons. No wonder the recruits think you're the best thing since manga." The man teased as he dragged Shikamaru into a noogie.

"Ack! Gerroff! Jeez, you're as bad as Charlie." Shikamaru complained with a scowl as he turned to the others, all in uniform aside from Fae who was wearing a very expensive yet tasteful Kimono. Kai, Rahkesh, Zaraki and Raven were all wearing their uniforms impeccably – several ladies giving them an appreciative eyeing – while Sarah and Hitsugaya-taichou were in their skirt-uniforms, the numerous medals and pins on Hitsugaya-taichou's breast and collar gaining a number of wide-eyed stares. After all, who would expect the Head of the Anti-Terrorism and Organized Crime Division to be present at a School Festival.

More than a few people then started to pay a little more attention to Shikamaru as he was obviously the one the uniformed group had come to see.

For the rest of the day he ended up showing his boss and his co-workers around, fending off Kenichi and Raven's playful advances, preventing Kai from dragging his lover into the nearest closet, preventing Zaraki and Sarah from vanishing into the closets as well, trying to stop Hitsugaya-taichou from interrogating the entirety of the school's Security team – they looked ready to wet themselves when she near enough burst into their offices barking orders left and right until Shikamaru came and dragged her back out apologising profusely and scolding her for interfering in other people's work.

When the time for the Ball came, he had relaxed enough to allow Kenichi to drag him out onto the dance floor, of course Shikamaru didn't know how to dance in the least and spent most of the time fumbling the steps and laughing himself stupid while Kenichi ran a constant commentary on his footwork like an American Football Commentator – kind of reminding him a little of Lee Jordan during Quidditch. After escaping from him he ended up getting abducted by Hitsugaya-taichou who took it upon herself to teach him, he did pretty good – if only because he was too terrified of stepping on the woman's toes to get it wrong. After which he ended up doing a waltz with Fae who looked like some kind of graceful swan next to the trampling elephant that was Shika.

All in all, a very good evening.

Even if no one actually told him why they'd bothered to come to the Ouran Festival, every time he asked, they gave him an odd look before grinning and dragging him off to do something.

Very odd.

-

Not long after the Festival, Shikamaru ended up with flu and couldn't come into school, nor have any visitors.

It didn't bother him too much – he blamed Sarah, she had flu before and gave it to him while they were dancing no doubt – which was how he managed to dodge the Host Club's little adventure in cookery. Haruhi had complained bitterly through the closet wall vent, possibly the only way to talk to one another without wasting cash on the phone or shouting through the walls.

He also heard about the incident with Kyouya and the shopping centre as well which gave him a good laugh.

He had managed to get well enough to return to school when the whole incident with Chika and his brother started. Shika had, of course, heard about it from Haruhi that evening over dinner – Ranka had made such a huge deal about him being better that he insisted upon a big meal – apparently she was worried that Haninozuka-senpai was quite depressed about his younger brother's supposed 'hatred' of him.

Shika absently wondered if he should tell her that Chika almost idolised his brother almost as much as Satoshi – but only on matters of martial arts. He decided against it when Ranka brought out the Treacle Tart he had made especially for him having followed a recipe from the internet.

He did, however, show up to Chika and Haninozuka-senpai's fight, Satoshi gave him a rather pathetic look when he arrived – obviously worried that Shika would be angry with him for blurting out about his sister, he wasn't – and curtailed that behaviour by ruffling the taller boy's hair as he passed and stood beside Haruhi.

He watched the fight with interest but couldn't help but laugh when Chika got his ass handed to him, he only laughed harder when the little birdies floated around the younger teenager's head. So much for trying to hide how alike he was to his older brother, he could only shake his head and snigger when Chika started to try and prompt Satoshi into '_Awkward-mother-hen_' mode again.

"Well that was interesting." He declared watching as Chika ran away, Berserker!Satoshi on his tail waving his practice sword. He shook his head and walked away with a laugh, thinking that if he ever got the Weasleys in the same room as the Hosts the sheer dysfunctionality of _that_ family would boggle even their minds.

Which family he didn't know, it was pretty difficult to tell.

-

(1) The correct answer is: "_**KILL THE BITCH!! KILL IT!!**_" So you can understand why he didn't answer ;D

(2) Yes, American Football is essentially: Rugby with padding. Pussy's Rugby. I'm sorry if this offends some people – I am neither a football player nor a rugby player, this is just an observation and the opinion of a large number of rugby players ;D The fact that I was sat in a pub with my dad watching the Rugby beside some Americans and they were absolutely HORRIFIED at the concept of these guys ploughing into each other with that kind of force and no padding, and the fact that most of the time these guys went the whole game without switching out. It rather amused me. If you're American and you like football, I do suggest watching Rugby, you might like it.

-

**Yup. One update every two weeks now people, that's my schedual now that I have a job. 9-5pm with flexi-hours. But it still means I need to clock in about 38 hours a week. Ergo, yeah. If I **do** miss an update, please bare with me, its because things at work have gotten out of hand. While I'm still only an Apprentice, I don't actually have a department that I belong to at the moment, I'm moving from floor to floor doing whatever odd jobs anyone needs me to do. Dataentry, graphics, filing, ect ect ect.**

First Week: Sort over 10,000 sheets of paper into number over - _of course they forgot to tell me I had to sort them three different ways BEFORE number order, no, _they waited until **after** I'd finished to tell me that and make me do it allllll over again. XDD

**Lets not forget that my Boss is leaving next week as well. **

**Human Resources really didn't plan this out very well, Pat didn't even know I was joining them last monday. XDDD**

Reviews pleasums! They give me warm and fuzzies.

Araceil


	12. Chapter 12

**Black Birds**

-

The weekend was _going_ to be one of Shikamaru's rare ones where he allowed himself to completely relax, slog around in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and do a bit of painting.

Which explained why he ended up being so foul tempered when the Lobelia Girls dragged both him and Haruhi out of their apartments and into their waiting cars. Even more so when they _yet __again_ refused to listen to him when he said he was male, they thrust the Lobelia uniforms at both him and Haruhi and shoved them into the changing rooms.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru tossed his uniform into the corner and faced away so Haruhi could get changed in peace, dimly he could hear the commotion of the Benibara fanclub outside, he shook his head in disgust, and these girls thought they were any better than the Hosts? Yeah right.

"I'm finished." Haruhi told him, allowing the green eyed teenager to turn and lean against the wall foul temperedly giving her a once over.

"You look better in the Ouran uniform." He stated flatly, bringing a smile from the girl.

"I have to admit it's not my usual style."

The door clacked open before Shika could make another scathing comment and the three Lobelia girls practically attacked Haruhi, his eyes narrowed and he made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat accidentally drawing their attention. Five seconds later Shikamaru could be found on top of the lockers, pressed against the wall as far away from those girls as possible with next to no idea of how he got there but no desire to ever get down. Especially with them gushing over the 'adorably angry kitty'.

Oh he wanted to smack a bitch right about now.

Haruhi explained his Aphephobia quickly and the girls finally backed off sharply, leaving him to actually breathe and cautiously climb down from his safe haven. Downside, now they were calling him 'Kitten'.

He wondered if anyone could notice if he Legilimencied their brains into mulch?

They complained a little about him not wearing the uniform – yet again ignoring his statement about how he wasn't into cross dressing and how he was _a __MAN_ – before asking him and Haruhi to join their school performance. They refused and left, ignoring the fake sobbing coming from the girls who had hoped it would dissuade them from leaving, idiots, if sobbing made them do things then Tamaki would get his way _ALL_ the time.

Of course the Benibara fanclub outside just had to go and make Haruhi feel like scum for doing so – Shikamaru was used to that kind of treatment and it no longer even registered on his senses anymore, unless someone was plotting his death he generally never noticed fangirl opinion.

They ended up taking part anyway.

Shikamaru if only to prevent Haruhi from getting gang-raped by the Zuka girls or beaten to a bloody smear by their fanclubs.

Ignoring everyone who spoke to him he leaned against the piano and scowled at the pomp and overacting around him, for theatre it would be fine but... damn, this is what they called acting? If he'd ever done half the crap these people did while on undercover he would be _dead_.

Then the singing started and Shikamaru cringed.

Then the pianist started his cue and Shika – cursing his existence and the added effects of Fawkes's Phoenix tears still present in his blood(1) – began to sing, eyes scanning his lines and Haruhi mouthing his words. Essentially dubbing her voice with his. He never noticed the Host Club members hovering outside the windows.

The song finished, he took a solid drink of water, ignored everyone gushing, shot Haruhi a dark look – clearly displeased with his current predicament – which made her give him an apologetic look, one that hopefully promised treacle tart later, before they were dragged off to the Auditorium to practice some more.

He refused to change into one of those dresses and terrified the costume crew away from him before taking refuge up with the lighting, ignoring the laughing coos from the girls about how 'she' was just a shy kitten who didn't want to have everyone to see 'her' 'angelic' face.

Then the Hosts showed up and Shikamaru jumped from the lighting and onto the crash-mats just as the Zuka girls revealed their candid camera plot making the dark haired teen start to twitch sporadically. They apologised and invited them to the next performance but Shikamaru refused point blank before moving to leave, he had therapy soon and he didn't want to be late.

"You're a good singer." Kyouya complimented as the other teen jumped off the stage, Shikamaru scowled and went a little pink.

"Tell anyone and they'll never find your body." He warned, bringing a smirk to the Ootori heir's lips.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He wisely didn't tell his classmate he was planning on hacking into the Lobelia system to get a recording of the rehearsals. He really was quite good.

Shika grunted and shot him a suspicious look before leaving.

-

"Ritsu.... why... are you carrying Morinozuka-senpai's bag?" Shikamaru asked warily as he ran into his friend and the two seniors in the hall way on his way to track – he had changed while in the bathroom so as to avoid commentary on the scars adorning his back.

"Ehh? You know Bossa Nova Shika-chan?" Haninozuka-senpai chirped, peering out from behind Morinozuka-senpai.

He nodded, "Yes, we're friends. Care to explain Ritsu?" He asked turning to the somewhat embarrassed red head who mumbled under his breath quietly, hoping it wouldn't reach his friend's ears; unfortunately Shikamaru had excellent hearing even if his eyesight wasn't the best. "That's stupid. No offence to Morinozuka-senpai but I doubt he could help you make friends, he's even shyer than you are." The green eyed teenager told his friend flatly, making Ritsu flinch slightly before he lightly knocked the back of his fist against the red-head's skull with an encouraging smile.

"Well whatever. Don't try too hard Ritsu, if people can't be bothered to see past a somewhat intimidating glare to the great guy behind it then they're obviously not worth it. I'll see you later, Hedwig's been wanting to come and visit so I'll probably drop by later tonight." He told the first year before jogging away, waving briefly to the Seniors before vanishing from sight down a flight of stairs.

Haninozuka blinked and smiled, "I didn't know you and Shika-chan were friends."

Ritsu shook his head, "He's only being nice." He said miserably before walking towards the Music Room, refusing to elaborate further.

Mitsukuni and Takashi glanced to each other, the former with a budding smile and the latter with an eyebrow raised. The pair silently wondering if Kasanoda was really that oblivious.

Later that night, Shikamaru and Hedwig came to the house, greeting a few of the brothers before sneaking into Ritsu's room with every intention of surprising the red head before bursting out into laughter at the thick red dreadlocks that were against his skull.

It took the better part of three hours to get them out and Shikamaru teased him the whole time while Ritsu tried to defend himself, the muffled laughter outside the room telling Shikamaru that the brothers were listening in again.

He ended up missing the finale of the whole Disciple-thing with Morinozuka-senpai, but he did end up laughing himself hoarse when he did hear about it. He could only shake his head and ruffle Ritsu's hair when he figured out the teenager was crushing on his neighbour and assured the Brothers that Haruhi was in fact female, just having to hide her gender for the time being.

He did however; thank Morinozuka-senpai for helping Ritsu with those idiots from the Sendo family.

-

Having been so wrapped up in all the happenings of Ouran – because really it was like a small world all its own – Shikamaru never expected the most unexpected facet of his past to show up right in front of him, purple faced and furious.

It was a quiet Monday morning, the cherry blossoms had yet again bloomed and Shikamaru had still been in high-spirits after his session with Orihime on the Saturday, they'd discussed some lighter things, the calm moments in the war. Like the huge party celebrating Sirius getting his name cleared which resulted in Hermione and Ron cementing their relationship along with Remus and Tonks vanishing into the nearest broom cupboard.

So he was understandably stunned and confused and a little anxious when he heard the familiar _dulcet_ tones of his Uncle, snarling and complaining rather loudly and brutesquely in English, dressed in a new suit, obviously expensive but no where near Ouran Level. Aunt Petunia dressed primly in a skirt and blouse with her handbag tucked under her arm and Dudley trailing along after them, looking distinctly uncomfortable in the black suit his father had forced him into and under the eyes of the other Ouran students.

"_Pompous arrogant bastards. Wouldn't know Upper Class if it smacked them in the faces_." Vernon was blustering furiously in English as he marched his wife and son through the grounds, heading for the main gate and incidentally... Shikamaru himself.

"_There, there Diddy-darling, we'll find a better school for you to attend_." Petunia was gushing, her horse-like features looking appropriately scornful as she eyed the immaculately kept gardens with a jealous eye. Obviously they had _really_ wanted to have Dudley attend, even though the 17-year-old in question looked as though he wanted to vanish into his coat with sheer embarrassment. Apparently only Dudley realised that the people around him practically controlled the country and was more than enthusiastic about getting the hell out of dodge and attending the local All Boys' school Ouron, just a little up the road from its sister school Ourin for girls.

Shikamaru shifted and hung his head, shaking his fringe so it better hid his face as he moved to hurry past; however, luck wasn't with him. It was as if his moment made his Uncle finally register his existence, piggy brown eyes snapped to his face, narrowed before widening, the reddish purple shade of his features suddenly ripening into a rich black current shade.

"_**You**_." His Uncle seethed.

Well, the jig was up, no point in trying to hide now.

Shikamaru straightened his spine and shot his Uncle a glare that could strip skin from bone, the stupid Walrus didn't even flinch, he was too busy darkening the shade of puce that adorned his face.

"_Yes. Me._" He stated flatly, raising an eyebrow at the older man, ignoring the way several people seemed to have made a point of watching the exchange, "_What of me?_"

"_What is a __**freak**__ like you doing here?_" Vernon spat, Shikamaru sighed through his nose and delicately wiped a spot of spittle from his cheek, prompting a few giggles and sniggers from their audience.

"_I happen to attend here._" He was going to say more but the angry and somewhat incoherent spluttering of his Uncle prevented it, along with the sharp inhalation from his Aunt; Dudley however took a step away from his parents and tried to look uninvolved.

"_**You**__ attend a place like __**this?**__ Don't make me laugh freak! If they wouldn't let __**us**__ in what makes you think an orphan __**freak**__ with a whore and a drunk for parents _–

Shikamaru was three steps away from Vernon, his bag discarded on the floor where he had been stood, green eyes dark and furious, "_I would be _**VERY**_ careful about my next words Dursley._" He hissed, watching in satisfaction as the lard-ass finally figured out what he had just said about his volatile nephew's parents and took a few staggered steps backwards.

"_You can't use that kind of __**freakishness**__ here Potter! They're throw you in jail for it._" He blustered and Shikamaru only scowled darker but remained silent, his Uncle didn't need to know that he was the one in charge of sending people to Jail now, he might actually piss on himself and that would just be embarrassing. Unfortunately, Vernon seemed to take this as an admission of weakness and squared up to him, his moustache quivering pompously, "_Go in there and get them to accept our Dudders into their school now brat, its about time you began to pay us back for dealing with you_."

Shikamaru bristled, not only at the order, but at the thought of paying them back for care that they wouldn't even have given a pet _dog_. He never noticed the crowd growing larger or the Hosts arriving on the scene, Haruhi biting her lip in worry having recognised the people he was speaking with from pictures in Shikamaru's sketchbooks.

"_Pay you? For what?_" He seethed darkly, hands fisting, "_Treating me like you would a rabid dog?_" He demanded sharply. His Uncle went purple again, growling a rather threatening '_boy_' at him, but Shikamaru was beyond caring as he lifted his arms out challengingly. "_What are you going to do?_" He demanded as his Uncle swelled, "_Hit me? I'm not a terrified six-year-old anymore _**Uncle**_._"

That word seemed to be the last straw for the obese man as he lunged towards Shikamaru with a snarl of "_Ungrateful_**FREAK**_!!_"

Shikamaru tensed his body but held his neck and face loose, knowing that his Uncle would attempt to backhand him, it would hurt less if he rolled with the blow. It never came and the green eyed teenager opened his eyes just in time to see Morinozuka-senpai twisting his Uncle's outstretched arm, slamming his shoulder into the man's waist and actually _lifting_ him and throwing him down _**hard**_ onto the stone-paved ground, a sickening crack and howl of pain signifying his Uncle had been hurt in the small exchange.

Petunia screamed and Dudley darted forward with every intention of defending his father from the slightly smaller Japanese youth.

He never got the chance.

Shika ducked around Takashi and tackled into his cousin, pushing him to the floor, twisting his arms behind his back in a classic police-man's pin, putting his mouth near his cousin's ear, "_Please don't. Morinozuka is one of the national martial arts champions, you'd just get hurt._" He explained softly.

He climbed off his cousin but didn't bother getting to his feet as the blonde pushed himself to his hands and knees and stared at his cousin whom he had seen neither hide nor hair of for the last two years almost. Dudley had gotten taller, now standing at 6'4", two inches taller than Morinozuka-senpai, his blonde hair had darkened into a kind of wheat colour, his skin was a little more tanned from running in the mornings, the puppy-fat and general fat had been stripped from his face and body, though a fair portion of it remained. He had obviously taken his boxing seriously and turned what was once an overwhelming obesity into mostly tight-packed muscle over the last two-three years in Shikamaru's absence.

Meanwhile, as he studied his cousin, Dudley studied him, taking in the longer hair, the scrawnier body, the darker eyes and the way he held himself. Even though he hadn't been there, just looking at his cousin – who always seemed to hold the general feeling of a trapped animal – he now reminded Dudley acutely of one of those old Soldiers who'd been on the front lines and came to Smeltings for Poppy Day, the ones who'd seen the worst humanity had to offer and _nothing_ could shock or horrify them anymore.

Distantly they could hear Petunia wailing over her husband, throwing curses at Shikamaru but they ignored her.

Shika smiled finally, "_You grew up Dudley_." He congratulated, the blonde flushed somewhat and pushed himself to his feet, catching sight of security running over and moved to extend a hand to his cousin, only to find himself being beaten to the punch by the dark haired Japanese teenager who threw his father to the ground.

"_I'm not the only one._" He reminded him, Shikamaru smiled wryly.

"_I guess we had to didn't we? Get your dad to the hospital, it sounded like he did himself some real damage in that fall._" He recommended, Dudley nodded, his eyes flickering from his cousin to the taller male who still had a solid grasp of his hand, he repressed a small smirk and nodded.

"_Not as much damage as that Granger girl will when she meets your new '_friend_'._" He teased giving Takashi a pointed glance which only made the two blink and exchange glances, Shikamaru realising Takashi still had hold of his hand and swiftly pulling it free and shooting his cousin a glower.

"_Smartass._" He grunted watching as the Security Teams swarmed Vernon and Petunia, calling for an ambulance to take the blustering older man to the hospital.

"_You know it Couz._" Dudley agreed before giving Shikamaru a nervous look, "_I... I'm sorry about the –_

"_How's this, you give me your mobile number and we'll talk it over lunch or dinner sometime this week yeah? I'm not too keen on these guys hearing about our dirty laundry._" The green eyed 17-year-old broke in before Dudley could blurt anything too serious out in front of Morinozuka-senpai, Shika wasn't even certain the Japanese teenager could understand English but knowing Shika's luck he wasn't holding out much hope.

The two exchanged numbers and spoke quietly for a while as Petunia fluttered around Vernon, the Hosts working on dispersing most of the onlookers, allowing Kasanoda and Ayame to remain as they were part of Shikamaru's very small circle of friends. The paramedics arrived and loaded Vernon up into the ambulance, Petunia and Dudley following him inside, a quick check proving it to be little more than a slipped disk on Vernon's part, but never the less he would need seeing to.

"Care to explain what that was about Akegata-san?" Kyouya asked carefully, his English was impeccable and he'd over-heard a fair amount of the exchange, he had been about to intervene but Mori-senpai had been a step in front of him and _forcibly_ intervened.

The green eyed teenager gave him a look and shrugged a shoulder, "My Uncle and I never got along." He admitted simply before turning and walking to class, not even bothering to pick up his bag – Ritsu took care of that and chased after him – which only proved that the encounter had disturbed their classmate considerably. That bag had his sketchbook inside it, and he never went _anywhere_ without it.

Takashi stooped to allow Mitsukuni to hop onto his shoulders, the former of the two looking deeply unhappy considering how inexpressive he usually was and Mitsukuni looked almost '_Black_' as he continued to glance over his shoulder, debating whether or not to chase after the ambulance and give the fat man more than a slipped disk. Tamaki's mind was swimming, the day of the Festival replying over and over in his head, the moment when Shikamaru told him that family were often the worst and that he shouldn't destroy himself trying to win their approval... had he been speaking from experience?

Kyouya however, was plotting.

Akegata Shikamaru had no recorded relatives, and if they were abusive then there should be some record from Child Protective Services if Shikamaru legally was no longer living with them – which every record he'd found before having to call of his search suggested. Also the name, Potter, the Uncle had been spitting and cursing that name as if it belonged to Akegata-san. A possibility, perhaps the reason there was no information of Akegata Shikamaru was because there was no Akegata Shikamaru. Witness Protection?

He was definitely looking into it later.

But first, classes.

-

Come Lunchtime, the story and several variations were all over the school.

A student in 2A's relatives arrived on Campus and tried to attack him.

A relative of a student in the school came and tried to kill them.

A student's relatives came and tried to kidnap them to sell into slavery due to huge familial debt.

And so on and so forth.

Truth be told, Morinozuka Takashi was tired of the groundless rumours that floated around the school, and he didn't doubt that Shikamaru-san was well and truly fed up with them as well. Mitsukuni was on the very edge of turning _Black_ which was never very good for anyone in the vicinity, especially Takashi because he usually ended up being the one taking the brunt of Hani's temper.

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

Packing up his belongings, he made a swift trip to the Cafeteria with Mitsukuni to claim their lunches (a C for him and an A for his cousin) before making their way out to the gardens where Shikamaru usually ate lunch on his own while Haruhi was not present. They weren't disappointed upon sighting the smaller black haired teenager leaning back against the bark of the wood... Sleeping?

Takashi blinked as they got closer and realises that _Yes_ Shikamaru-san was in fact sleeping.

He was tempted to leave the 2nd year be, he knew the younger teenager needed to sleep more anyway, but Mitsukuni wasn't quite so considerate as he bounded over and sat himself down, purposefully jostling the green eyed teenager 'Accidentally'. Watching in half amusement, half worry as he sat bolt up right, aware and his fingers going for some kind of weapon he didn't have with him.

"Haninozuka-senpai? Morinozuka-senpai? Can I help you?" He asked realising who was with him and leaning back against the rough bark of the cherry blossom tree behind him, absently brushing a few sakura petals from his hair and lap.

"Well, there's lots of rumours floating around about this morning. We wanted to ask you what it was really about." Mitsukuni explained as he opened up his lunchbox.

Shikamaru smiled bitterly staring at his hands, "Well you'd be the first to actually ask for my side of things so thanks I guess. And thank you for stopping my Uncle Morinozuka-senpai, I didn't quite fancy suffering through a broken jaw." He admitted flippantly.

Takashi was quiet for a moment before he nodded slightly, "You're welcome." He intoned thoughtfully, privately thinking that he probably should have done worse to the bastard who dared raise a hand against his family.

Shikamaru sighed and brushed some dirt from his knee as he leaned against the tree behind him, "As I said earlier. My Uncle and I never got along. It really goes back to my mum and her older sister Petunia, they were pretty close but my mother got into a very selective school for the gifted up in Scotland, my aunt was insanely jealous and began to think of my mother as a freak because of her special gifts. When she married, Petunia's jealousy spread to my father who was also from this school for the Gifted, my father was very wealthy being a Lord but he liked his privacy and kept it quiet. She ended up thinking my father was little more than an unemployed bum, which further spawned into a foul opinion about my mother. She never knew they worked for the Government against the a Nazi Terrorist Group, they called themselves the Death Eaters, the majority of whom had also attended various schools for the Gifted or were of wealthy old '_Pureblood_' families."

Mitsukuni and Takashi listened in silence as Shikamaru spoke, it explained a few things, like how the Second year managed to get into Ouran, his father was apparently a Lord who valued privacy so kept a low profile and his family was wealthy on top of working for the Government in a dangerous position.

"I was fifteen months old when the leader of the Death Eaters discovered our location and murdered my parents. I was packed off to live with my Aunt and Uncle who welcomed me into their home as much as someone would damp-rot. To make a long story short, it _was __**not**_ abuse. Severe neglect yes, but never outright abuse."

"Then how did you stop living with them?" Haninozuka asked curiously, his tone of voice just a little tight with anger over the treatment of his friend by his own flesh and blood. For them, family was everything.

Shikamaru smiled, "I was recruited into the same school my parents were. Unfortunately the Death Eaters became active when I was fourteen, I left my relatives and joined one of the organizations fighting them, I was after all target number one having been the only survivor of an attack. I've been working on Anti-terrorism since I was 15 and I haven't seen my Aunt or Uncle since."

"How did they neglect you?" Takashi asked abruptly, eyeing the younger teenager, he was small, skinny, boarder-line anorexic with brittle bones and poor eyesight. That set warning bells off in Takashi's head.

Shikamaru wrung his hands slightly, he'd already spoken to Orihime about his time with the Dursleys, a lot of time wasn't needed, Shikamaru was already over his childhood, yes it fucked him up occasionally but he was largely over it.

"Ten years living in the cupboard under the stairs on minimal food and too much manual labour." He informed the older teenager, noting the way his hand tightened so much on his chopsticks that they snapped, splinters fortunately not being able to get through the tough calluses on the palms of his hand from Kendo.

He _really_ should have thrown the old bastard _harder_.

-

(1)** Phoenix tears, Shika singing and having it still in his blood**: I said earlier that his magic doubled the potency of the Phoenix Tears in his blood as a survival mechanism from when he was with the Death Eaters. Phoenix Magic would affect him in some fashion and since Phoenix animagi are so damn over-done, I decided to take several Phoenix traits and pass them onto Harry via Magical Imprinting. So in this, he's got an affinity for fire and singing. Healing - not so much mainly because of the Avada Kedavras he was struck with not to mention the fact he has killed and isn't exactly very '_light_' based anymore. Ergo: NOT GARY STU – he hates it and can only sing well on occasions, like in the shower or when he's offered treacle tart, other times he sounds like a cat being strangled. Treacle Tart was the only reason he could sing well for the Lobelia girls – he was plotting to get Haruhi to make it for him when they got back.

-

**OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG**

ITS **SNOWING!!**

Its snowing in England!! Its a record amount amount as well, we've never had this much snow in my lifetime, this is the largest snow-dump in 20 years! Unfortunately I still had to go into work. XP

Someone in a review said something about me being in Human resources at work, XDD nope, sorry if I gave that impression or mistakenly said that I was, I'm actually in Network Management. However, since Network Management is currently somewhere in the Ether, our Line Manager having just retired and we're currently training a new one, I'm on lone out to every department that needs the extra pair of hands.

Another brightside, my friends have a shared house but one of them wants to move back in with his parents so he can save up some cash to go back to college, guess who'll be getting his room somewhen in March/April? That's right! SANTA!! XDD nope, it'll be me. So yes I will be moving out, yes my internet access may be a bit questionable, and yes, updates may be broken up and knocked out of whack during that time period because I won't actually have a computer - just my little notebook laptop. Let us hope that Cake does not reject me. Cake being the name of my friend's wireless network. XDD

**Review pleasums!! Let me know your thoughts!**

Araceil


	13. Chapter 13

**Black Birds**

-

**IMPORTANT NOTE: I just found out a little while ago that my grandfather has Cancer. Both my grandparents are now in hopsital, I'm sorry but updates after this are going on hold until I get myself together, chances are they might not resume until after March when I've moved out. Again, I'm sorry but that's just the way the cookie crumbles and I'm not up to writing with all the drama that's flying around at the moment.**

-

Takashi had very good English.

He needed to, like with Mitsukuni, as he was the National Champion of Kendo he would often be called to take part in Tournaments overseas, regardless of how introverted he was, it did make life easier to speak fluent English – even if the different Accents sometimes threw him(1).

As such, he knew precisely what was being said between Shikamaru and the purple faced man he called his Uncle and he didn't like what he heard. Not in the least.

Over the last few days since the incident with the road, Takashi and Mitsukuni had been sticking close to the anorexic teenager – the rest of the Hosts as well when they brought the incident to Haruhi's attention and she begged them to help her keep an eye on him, Tamaki and the twins had been heartbroken for a while thinking that she was romantically involved with the boy until they heard her call him '_Shika-nii_' and then proceeded to try and get into the green eyed teenager's good books. It was amusing to him because Takashi knew that if Haruhi wanted to be with any of them Shikamaru wouldn't interfere at all as long as it was consensual.

Takashi had noticed a lot about the smaller teenager, it intrigued him; the green eyed Second Year's various quirks and unusual habits.

Some, however, concerned him. Like the 17-year-old's habit of checking every exit and entry point when walking into the room, taking note of everyone's position and where everything is, he'd seen that kind of behaviour a few times in the Senior members of the family, the ones who'd been in wars or fights for their lives. It made him wonder what had happened in his past to give him that kind of paranoia.

It was extremely odd in that he didn't hold himself the same way as he'd seen old soldiers do, his body was relaxed and then at times wound tightly, he always seemed hyper aware of his surroundings but then there would be moments when his attention would just wonder and he went through everything in a daze, noticing nothing. It was happening more often actually, his eyes would unfocus for a moment and then suddenly he would blink and pinch himself scowling unhappily and carry on with what he had been doing earlier. In all, it seemed like he was falling asleep or at least trying to.

Shaking off his increasingly... uncomfortable thoughts, the eldest Morinozuka Heir tipped his head forward so Mitsukuni could properly affix his eyepatch, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about this latest Cosplay with the Pirates. It... well it was common knowledge that Pirates and Ninja – there by Samurai as well – did **not** get along. Plus, Mitsukuni's idea of an adventure corner named '_Bunny Island_' was a bit..... cutesy for a Pirate in his opinion, one he didn't air because he knew no one would change it, the fangirls loved Mitsukuni for his sugary-cuteness so he supposed they would enjoy the Bunny Island adventure corner.

He resigned himself to the job and vowed to do as good a job as he possibly could.

After all, he might enjoy himself. He never knew.

-

Shikamaru pulled a face as he worked on his painting, he was glad today was Art Club day, while he wouldn't have minded Track he didn't really want to go to Martial Arts Practice in his current sour mood.

He couldn't believe he'd told Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai what amounted to his life story with the Dursleys – the quick and ugly version anyway. What right did they have to know? And better yet, why the hell had he told them?

Sure he was over it, it no longer bothered him but still... he always played it close to his chest, _always_. He didn't like people knowing about that aspect of his life, it made him feel weak to know that he allowed them to treat him like a rabid dog when he was too young to stop them. It rankled him something awful and if he was brave enough to face the media shitstorm that would arise, he would have pressed charges, as it stood, he couldn't be bothered to face that kind of idiocy and swept it under the rug.

He sighed and washed his brush, picking another colour and returning to working it over the canvas in front of him.

There was another problem too though.

Dudley.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of his cousin anymore. He remembered him as a bullying fat bastard with authority issues and, to be quite frank, little to no chance of surviving the real world due to his parent's god-awful coddling. Now, he was different, he was humble and had obviously picked up some life experience – well it wasn't surprising, he'd heard once that Luna was regularly visiting them with news of what was going on with the war, he wondered how Dudley would have felt knowing that the cousin he used to kick punch and shove down flights of stairs was fighting in a bloody vicious war against people who thought he was lower than scum and would quite happily torture and murder him for fun.

The green eyed youth sighed heavily, he wanted to meet up with his Cousin, to clear the air and possibly put things to rights, be a family for once in their damn lives. But he wasn't quite sure if the risk was worth the gains, nor was he quite sure about where they should meet up.

There was a Dango stand not too far from Ourin that had damn good Takoyaki and plum wine – Shika had to show them his Government I.D. before they would serve him that but he didn't mind, it was actually quite refreshing in comparison to the other establishments in the Wizarding World who would serve you what you wanted as long as you had the coin to pay. He supposed he could take Dudley there...

The green eyed teenager, sat back and stretched lazily, hearing a few pops coming from his spine that caused Haku-chan to pull a face and laugh at him.

"Shika-nii." Called a voice from the doorway, green eyes peered around his canvas and blinked at the sight of a rather frustrated Haruhi and the Hitachiin twins behind her.

"Haru? What's wrong?" He asked getting to his feet, the girl and two boys stepped into the art room and went over to him, looking rather upset over something or other.

"You've heard right? That we're practically being hired out to some Princess?" Hikaru complained, studying the painting that Shika had been in the process of finishing up. It was a portrait of Bill and Fleur on their wedding day, Bill with his Werewolf scarred features and suit, fang earring and long hair, his arms draped lovingly around Fleur who looked exquisite in the flawless white wedding gown, a Goblin made white-gold tiara set on her silvery blonde hair, her pale skin practically glowing with happiness as she looked out of the canvas with shining silvery blue eyes. "Who're they?"

"They are some very dear friends from back in England. And what do you mean Princess?" Shikamaru asked, a frown of confusion on his face, a small nagging thread of worry tugging on his stomach.

"The Princess of Monale has come to Ouran. She said she wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms bloom but now she's decided to turn the Host Club into her personal attendants." Haruhi explained, she seemed the least perturbed by the events but then again considering how she dealt with the Host Club's ridiculous demands, dealing with a bratty princess would be eas- Monale?

"Monale? As in the small European Country Monale? Princess Michelle?" Shikamaru asked, dread now dragging down at his gut.

"You know her?" Kaoru asked in curiosity.

Shikamaru groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah. But... she was a sweet girl when I met her, clumsy little thing who tore around the palace gardens like her hair was on fire and drove her nanny Luciana up the walls. Personal attendants... now that doesn't sound like her at all." He muttered a frown settling onto his features as he gnawed on his thumbnail thoughtfully.

"You're calling her little?" Hikaru asked smirking.

Shika shot him a glower, "She was thirteen. I had just hit fifteen. She was little compared to me back then." He stated before pulling a face, "Now though she's probably taller than me like every other girl I know from Europe." He muttered causing the twins to start laughing.

"How did you two meet?" Haruhi asked curiously, she honestly found it difficult to picture the little girl that Shikamaru described as the bratty demanding Princess she'd met earlier.

"It was during the attack that killed her parents actually." He explained leaning against the table behind him, his arms folded and scowling at the ceiling. "We'd gotten some intelligence from our Inside man that the Death Eaters were planning on making a move against a small European Country with a large population of '_Mudbloods_' as they called them. Myself and about ten others all made a trip to the Kingdom of Monale to warn them but both the King and Queen were adamant about facing this threat head on and not backing down. I'll give them respect for that, those two went down fighting in a real blaze of glory, Estelle was a remarkable woman and as fierce a fighter as they came. Ron, Hermione and I got Michelle and Laurence out of there at their request and then took them out of the country. All of the papers reported the incident as a freak accident, a gas leak that blew up the whole palace when it hit the boilers in the basement along with the wine cellars." Shikamaru shook his head, "We took Michelle and Laurence back after the incident and let the Death Eaters believe that they destroyed the entire royal family and that the Government was putting proxies in their place. They contented themselves with that and carried on with their work before the attack and Monale began to recover.

"Of course Michelle then decided that she wanted to marry me regardless of the fact that I am essentially a Commoner – even if my dad was a Lord." He added pulling a face.

The three Hosts looked at each other in shock, when Kyouya mentioned a freak accident they hadn't thought it was a _Terrorist Attack_ and they hadn't even remembered that Shikamaru actually worked in Anti-Terrorism from the age of fifteen onwards. They were even more shocked to learn that the bratty Princess wanted to _marry_ him.

"Lord?" Haruhi asked curiously. She knew for a fact that ever search Kyouya made on his Classmate had turned up empty save for clips of Naruto Manga – she was quite fond of it herself and funnily enough Shikamaru was her favourite character next to Tenten and Jiraiya(2).

Shikamaru looked at her and smirked, "You don't think I didn't know about Kyouya-san's so called '_Discreet_' snooping did you?" He sniggered, "My father liked his Privacy, he was a Lord but very few even knew his name and even less ever saw his face. My mother was a Commoner, they met at school and my mother thought he was just an arrogant bullying toe rag. It took him seven-years to wear her down just to get one date." He admitted with a laugh, he had no doubts that if he hadn't been on the scene during first year to bring Ron and Hermione together, their time at Hogwarts would perfectly mirror that of his parents'.

The twins' eyes were wide, "Seven _years_, just for one date?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Yup. Dad was very tenacious, he could get any girl he wanted but she was the only one who didn't want him and it infuriated him. He was determined to go out with her but she just kept refusing him, or hitting him upside the head with a book. She was a lot like Haruhi actually, but perhaps with a nastier temper."

Hikaru snorted, "Sounds more like you than Haruhi." He teased.

Shikamaru snorted, "Funny. Everyone used to say I took after my dad in everything except my eyes and lung capacity."

"Lung capacity?" Kaoru asked with a grin.

"Let's just say, when mum was angry, the whole school knew it." The green eyed teenager explained with a grin, same with him, he was a bit shouty at the beginning of the war, then he just went quiet, _scarily_ quiet according to Ron. Damn he missed Ron and Hermione.

Haruhi shook her head with a smile; it was nice knowing a little more about her brother before her eyes caught the clock, "Ah! Shika, we're going to miss the train." She pointed out, the green eyed teenager cursed rapidly in English as he packed his things and pushed his wet canvas into the far corner of the room, he couldn't take it home yet until it dried so he'd leave it there. Everyone knew better than to touch things in the art room.

"We could always give you a lift." The twins offered, causing the two to pause and exchange glances.

"Sure ok." Haruhi agreed easily enough, obviously she had decided that the two wouldn't be doing anything nefarious to her tonight.

Piling into the Twins' limo they made their way back to the flats where Shikamaru and Haruhi lived, asking questions about the Princess all the while, Shikamaru answered as best he could and listened to what they had to say in mounting confusion.

"That really doesn't sound like Michelle at all." He muttered shaking his head.

Kaoru blinked staring at him, "You seem to know her quite well. Are you two involved?" He asked bluntly, Shikamaru choked on his tongue and stared at him in horror.

"Gods no!" He exclaimed shaking his head, "Don't get me wrong, Michelle is very pretty and she's really sweet but..." He paused, a pinched look on his face, "She's a bit... a bit of a fangirl and they terrify me." He admitted, blushing slightly in embarrassment as the twins roared with laughter at his expense and Haruhi giggled herself into toppling over on her seat. The green eyed male grumbled quietly and opted to ignore them from there on out, he treated every teasing comment with a flat look of unamusement that only set the twins back into peels of laughter.

Shikamaru decided to avoid the Hosts and especially Michelle for the entirety of her visit, he really didn't need her discovering his presence and blathering it across Europe, the fangirls and boys would attack him and that wasn't even going into what the others would do. Just thinking about the girls made his blood run cold. Hermione was not going to be happy.

He sighed and leaned back in the leather of his seat, absently staring out of the window as the sounds of Haruhi and the twins chatting washed over him. He never noticed when he fell asleep until Haruhi was gently shaking his shoulder so they could get out of the car.

That night, Shikamaru tossed back three Pepper-Ups as he worked on his laptop, finishing up the Homework which had steadily piled up in the last few days of neglect as he had to deal with the paperwork his Division palmed off on him. A lot of research was needed for them as Shikamaru was still struggling a little to keep his high grades, now more than ever as he would occasionally drift into a waking sleep in class before managing to shake himself out of it. He knew it wouldn't be long before his body finally rejected the Pepper-ups he had been plying himself with and put him into Potion Shock, meaning no more potions for Harry and an extended period of suffering through screaming Nightmares and bouts of Accidental Magic tearing his room to pieces.

Haruhi scolded him again for not sleeping the next morning, he didn't even bother wondering how she knew he hadn't slept – he knew he looked like _Reducto_'d Hippogriff crap.

The green eyed teenager ignored all the fuss that was following the Princess and just knuckled down to his classwork, his grades had been slipping due to his fatigue and he wouldn't allow it. He didn't even notice Tamaki-san and Kyouya-san weren't in class and Ayame-chan seemed surlier than usual – she had even snapped at him when he asked if he could borrow a calculator but apologised quickly enough.

Truth be told, Shikamaru was too tired to care.

He wondered if he could get away with 'borrowing' a Dreamless Sleep from work, or even sleeping pills from the School infirmary. He wasn't sure if they would have any negative reactions to the Pepper-ups though. Probably, knowing his luck.

Oh wonderful, and he'd forgotten to make his lunch today as well.

Groaning, the Wizard got to his feet and make his way sluggishly to the Cafeteria, forgetting about the Princess being with them in his sleepy haze as he by passed Renge-chan spouting off some nonsense about long lost brothers and sisters, love at first sight and other such tripe while the twins muttered something or other about running mills. He honestly wasn't listening as he requested a B meal and went hunting for a seat.

"_H-Harry?_" Asked a voice at the other end of the table, making him look up out of reflex, right at Princess Michelle.

Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks – along with the Princess's flying body, sending the pair toppling onto the floor where Shikamaru cracked his skull on the marble floor.

"_Oh I'm so sorry! Are you alright?_" The blonde girl was exclaiming hastily pushing herself away from him and yammering away in Italian – thankfully, Shikamaru could speak Italian, just not fluently(3).

"_I am well Michelle._" He assured her as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"_Oh Harry!_" She smiled brightly, "_What are you doing here? Everyone in Europe is kicking up such a frightful fuss over your disappearance. There's word going around that the remaining factions of the Death Eaters have managed to get their claws into you, Miss Hermione was rather beside herself the last time we spoke._" Michelle told him, her smile dissolving as Shikamaru got to his feet and pulled her up with him.

"_It is Shikamaru now, Michelle. And I needed a change of place._" He told her, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "_The people at home, they have become so ridiculous I could not step foot outside my home. My health was beginning to suffer from the constant harassment. I could not stomach it and left._"

Michelle pulled a face and gently laid a hand on his forearm, "_You know that you had only needed to ask, Brother and I would have welcomed you into our home with open arms after what you did for us._"

Shikamaru was saved from answering when the Kitchen staff wheeled out her meal, "Your highness, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I hope you will enjoy the French Cuisine that is on the menu today." The head Chef demurred, bowing as he laid out the dishes on the table.

Michelle's demeanour instantly changed, making Shikamaru bristle slightly, "Yes, it will do." She said somewhat pompously as she took her seat. She gestured to Shikamaru to sit opposite her before taking a slow and deliberate look around the room, "Well, now... who should I ask?" She pondered outloud, making Shika pause, a frown flickering onto his features from where he was pulling a chair out to sit down. "Ah! You over there! I've heard you were brought up as a peasant? I wonder if you would be my food taster? Can't be too careful you know."

The blood drained out of Shikamaru's face as his whole body went rigid, Hikaru and Kaoru leaping to their feet in fury, suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

Placing his tray down, the green eyed male pushed his chair back in and gave the blonde Princess a Look, one that had her wincing ever so slightly as he turned and left the room, pausing briefly to ruffle Haruhi's hair before he was out of the room.

For the rest of the day he ignored all questions about the Princess, apparently now – due to the scene made in the Cafeteria with Michelle throwing herself at him and the smile she gave – everyone seemed to think they had some kind of romantic past or were going to get married or something. He refrained from any vile insults to their intelligence and told them, as politely as he humanly could, that it was not their business and if they could please stop interrupting his studying? Thank you.

By the end of it he was thoroughly irritated and finally snapped, snarling at the next person to question him that it was none of their damn business and that if someone badgered him about it again they were going to get a thump, male or female, he didn't care.

After school, he made his way to the Hotel where the Princess was staying having overheard her informing Tamaki's chauffeur of where to take her, intending to have that long overdue conversation about just _what _had happened since he last spoke with her. There was a little trouble with the front desk not wanting to disturb the Princess but upon having them call up and get confirmation they allowed him to know which room she was in.

Then came the not so fun confrontation which resulted in the Princess bursting into tears and Shikamaru conjuring a large fluffy Phoenix Plushie for her to hug as he was too uncomfortable with the concept of doing it himself. He promised not to tell anyone at Ouran her reasons for being such a brat but advised her to stop anyway and left it at that, arriving back home just before Haruhi who had been given a lift again – this time by Morinozuka-senpai, whom Shikamaru waved to as he was unlocking the door. Out of the Hosts, Morinozuka-senpai, Haninozuka-senpai and Kyouya-san were the only really tolerable ones he could see himself associating with over an extended period of time. Tamaki would drive him insane and the twins would just make him rather angry and uncomfortable, they reminded him too much of the Weasley twins before the Dark Days.

Another night without sleep, mostly spent meditating and sorting through his memories as a small stick of Cherry Blossom scented incense burned on top of his bookcase. The next morning he was surprisingly relaxed and alert as he left his Apartment and joined Haruhi at the Train Station.

Upon arriving at Ouran, that good feeling evaporated into stunned disbelief.

There was a parade of elephants coming into the school.

A parade of elephants with Michelle on their backs and the Host Club leading them.

He turned around and left the school, planning on calling in and saying something had come up at work before practically fleeing into the Nihonjin Mahou Sho-.

Of course later he heard from Haruhi how the Princess had been lying and trying to get them to hate her so she could go back to her brother in Monale. He told her that he already knew but promised not to tell, it was her business after all and he'd had quite enough of people trying to dictate his own actions, he wasn't about to do the same thing, especially not to a friend – even if he did find the Princess irritating at times.

She left about a week later, after forcing Shikamaru to join herself and her older brother for dinner at a nice restaurant, paparazzi took a number of pictures much to Shikamaru's annoyance and the glare on his face, directed at the cameras, more than accurately spoke his feelings about the matter.

Then Tamaki got a cold.

Shikamaru sighed in exasperation as he spoke with Orihime-san.

"I mean, it's not like he's going to die or anything. At most he'll have a temperature and feel like there's a Troll tap-dancing on his skull but it's hardly something to freak out over." He complained in bemusement, "I just don't understand why the Japanese seem to think its such a big deal, everyone at school was apoplectic when they heard, I ended up getting yelled at by half the class when I asked what the big deal was." He decided not to mention the rumours about Morinozuka-senpai being in an incestuously gay relationship with Haninozuka-senpai. That... yeah, not possible.

Shikamaru wisely decided _**not**_ to think about the old Pureblood inbreeding policy – by those rules, Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai would be perfectly fine to pursue that kind of relationship, hell, they may have already been enga – NOT THINKING ABOUT IT.

"Are you alright Shika-kun?" Orihime asked in amusement when the green eyed teenager coughed violently, cheeks burning slightly.

"Let's just say, my brain rolled into the gutter for a moment. I'd really rather not talk about it." He said with as much dignity as he could muster.

Orihime grinned wickedly and teased him lightly for a bit, she was much happier to see him opening up again; he was recovering at a remarkable rate to be honest. Then again, if what she'd read in the files from Histugaya-sama he was already very mentally strong and bounced back quickly from personal hardships in life.

"Anyway, I should be going now. I'm... I'm meeting my cousin later. We're going to try and sort things out between us." Shikamaru explained somewhat warily, he was still uncertain about whether or not repairing his relationship with Dudley was worth it or not but... he supposed this meeting would see.

-

(1) **Accents**: Well you have American accents, and British accents. Then you've got the different accents that go into each and then you've got accents from other language speakers mixing with the English. I knew a Chinese girl who had very good English but she couldn't for the life of her understand our Spanish teacher (who is Spanish) when she spoke English, which is odd because she had no problem with our Literature teacher (who was welsh).

(2) **Jiraiya, Shikamaru and Tenten**: Some of my favourite characters. Tenten gets so little love in the series its criminal. She has the right idea when it comes to fighting, if at first you don't succeed, spam the bitch with pointy stuff. Note, I didn't call Harry Shikamaru as a nod to Naruto, I just called him that because of what it translates into. 8)

(3) **Speaking Italian**: Monale is actually in Italy, so it makes sense that Michelle's first language would be Italian, as we know, Shika is very good with languages, he picks them up extremely quickly. He's met and worked with Michelle and her brother so he knows their language, just not perfectly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Black Birds**

-

Dinner with Dudley was... interesting.

They decided to find a nice, cheap place to eat and ended up at a good restaurant in the shopping complex under the streets of Kyoto. Shikamaru did all the ordering and arrangements as the only one who could speak the language, the two ended up spending two hours in the restaurant just hashing a few things out.

Harry still wasn't 100-percent about them but he felt a lot happier about possibly becoming friends, then maybe moving onto what they _could_ have been – brothers. But there was still that lingering, niggling doubt, what was going to happen when he told his cousin about the War? What the Death Eaters did to him, and how it fucked him up in the head?

He figured he should tell his cousin sooner rather than later, before they got too friendly and it _hurt_ to see the rejection in those blue eyes and watch as he turned away in disgust. Just like he used to.

Shikamaru sighed as he carried on with life as usual, Orihime was talking of letting him back onto the Active Roster with his current rate of progress, he was bouncing back quickly but she was rather worried about his increasing and enforced insomnia. Frankly, so was everyone else.

He had been walking to class and blacked out, he woke up in the infirmary having been told that he'd just collapsed and that it was a good thing Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai had been behind him or he may have done himself some damage in the fall. There was another time when he was on the train with Haruhi, he'd just blacked out and they'd almost missed their stop because Haruhi couldn't get him to wake up quickly enough. There was also the not so fun time he nearly drowned in the shower.

It was getting ridiculous but he _couldn't_ go to sleep, his nightmares would set his Magic haywire and considering how much he was geared towards mass destruction, he didn't want to see what raw Accidental Magic would do to his apartment and everything around it.

His fatigue was getting bad as well, he'd almost stabbed Hedwig when she'd fluttered into his window during one of his blank out phases, he was planning on asking Ritsu-kun to take care of her until he could get this sorted when he came across the Hosts stood outside the door to 1-D.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked roughly, startling them.

"Shika-chan! You don't look too good." Haninozuka-senpai chirped, he seemed glad for a distraction.

"I don't feel too good either. Could you guys shift a sec please? I need to ask Ritsu if he'd take care of Hedwig for a while." He asked as he moved past them.

"Akegata-san, you frequent the Black Magic Club occasionally don't you?" Kyouya suddenly asked.

"Yeah, they have some interesting Ancient Rune texts that I haven't been able to find back home and a lot of information on the Taoist Branches of Exorcism. Why do you ask?" He asked leaning against the doorframe, ignoring the looks of surprise on everyone else's faces, he had to admit, with the displays that the other members put on, you wouldn't think that diminutive, foul tempered Akegata Shikamaru would be a quasi-member.

"What can you tell us about Kanazuki Reiko-san?"

"Rei-chan?" He queried before snorting, "She... She's a sweet girl really, she just doesn't quite know how to socialise properly, I'm assuming she's '_cursed_' one of you right?"

"Hani-senpai actually." Haruhi admitted, they watching in varying degrees of disbelief when the green eyed teenager started to laugh.

The dark expression on Morinozuka-senpai's face reminded him to explain what was going on before he got a punch in the face, "S-She, Reiko-chan doesn't... She has a _crush_ on him. That so called '_curse_' is one of those silly Junior School love-match things. Hurting him is the farthest thing on her mind; she just doesn't know how to go about making her affections known or really how to give them to be honest." He explained with a smile, "She's just a little quirkier than you guys are used to, give her a chance. She's really quite nice."

The surprise on their faces had him laughing again, "A crush? You are certain right?" Kyouya asked, making Shikamaru nod.

"Yes. She had a framed photo of him on her table in their club room, and I know for a fact that it's a crush because she lent me one of her notebooks and it had his name surrounded by pink hearts at the back." He explained with a chuckle which was echoed by Nekozawa-senpai who then went about showing them Reiko-chan's eraser and handmirror, both of which had Haninozuka-senpai's name and pink hearts on them.

Shikamaru shook his head and chuckled, patting Reiko's head as he found her stood beside him, "You alright there Rei-chan?" He asked as the Hosts and Nekozawa continued to be... well the Hosts and Nekozawa.

"I am well. Though I do not believe my **Curse** has been particularly effective. I may have to attempt more." The dark haired girl admitted in a monotone, slightly coloured with disappointment.

Shika smiled wryly, "You could always try just talking to him Rei-chan. He's not a bad guy, he won't turn you away just because you're a bit different compared to everyone else."

" – So, its just a Kid-level Charm?" The twins chorused.

"No. It is a **CURSE**." Reiko repeated a touch of irritation and indignation in her usual monotone. Shikamaru shook his head, even if it was supposedly a Kid-level curse, he had seen Reiko's _real_ curses and they were damn powerful. If she wanted, she could make that so called Kid-level Charm into something more powerful than a bucket of Amorentia. However, she just wanted Haninozuka's attention, she wanted him to notice her like she noticed him, it would ultimately be his choice if he pursued her, but she just wanted to make sure that she at least had a chance in comparison to all the motherly girls who designated him as their Host.

Shaking his head with a smile, the Wizard just shrugged and went into the classroom to ask Ritsu to take care of Hedwig; he didn't notice Morinozuka-senpai watching the exchange.

-

Shika supposed he should have expected it, Michelle did tell him that she was still in contact, and that Hermione was absolutely beside herself with his disappearance.

Though picturing Mai in that kind of state was... _disturbing_.

So he only had himself to blame for being so surprised when the doors opened in the middle of his Mathematics lesson and the woman herself walked in, startling the entire room into silence and prompting a strangled yelp of surprise from Shikamaru himself that had her head swinging around and her eyes locking on his own.

Mai looked exactly the same as she had when he'd left, tall and thin, her dark brown hair cut short in a stylish and practical bob-cut, her tanned features sporting several freckles, her face clear of make-up, her eyes were sharp, clear hazel in colour, she wore a sleeveless black top that displayed her prosthetic arm proudly, a pair of washed out skinny jeans hanging low on her hips and combat boots that were slathered with enough mud to make Tamaki shriek like a girl.

In that split second it took for her to cross the room Shikamaru was on his feet, spotting Ron stood in the doorway a cringe written across his face as she cocked back her fist and punched him solidly in the face with her wooden arm.

Shika yelped as he staggered backwards under the harsh blow, he didn't go very far before her arms were around him and she was burrowed against his neck shaking as she cried against his shoulder muttering his name over and over again. He looked over at Ron, his arms already wrapping around the girl he considered a sister, one of the only people he could touch without wanting to peel his skin off and burn it.

The red head looked pretty much the same as well, short vibrant vermillion coloured hair, pale skin, freckles _everywhere_, his scarred face and the strip of cloth wrapped around his mangled eyes, he wore similar clothing to Hermione only a little more reserved in that he also wore a long black winter-coat and had a white cane clasped in a black leather clad hand. Anyone looking at him would assume him blind and he was, but he could see Harry and Hermione clearly enough, the magic around them glowed to his eyes.

"_You. Are in deep trouble._" Ron declared, folding his arms with an amused expression on his face, "_And you're so lucky we managed to convince Ginny and Mum not to join us._"

Shikamaru winced as Mai pulled away from the hug and pressed a kiss against his forehead, "_How could you be so stupid? Vanishing on us like that? We'd thought Malfoy had grabbed you up again! Molly was crying for days and I'm not even going into what Ginny and the twins did._" The girl growled at him giving his shoulders a rough shake before hugging him tightly again. "_Stupid, stupid, stupid brat._" She muttered.

Shikamaru rubbed at her back, ignoring the expressions on everyone else's faces, particularly the horrified one on Tamaki's face as his eyes locked with Mai's fake arm and the vicious scarring that he could see attached to the stump of a shoulder – the stump that Avery had sawn her arm from.

"Sensei. May I be excused? I have some matters to attend to." He explained, gesturing to the two.

Their sensei frowned, "And what matters may these be? And just who are they?" She asked, she too was intensely curious about her quietest and most reclusive student – she remembered the uniforms that came to visit him on the Festival Day, the way the Princess treated him so warmly.

"Sensei, this is Weasley Ron and Granger Mai, they were on my team back in Europe. Needless to say, anything else is classified." He reminded her coolly, for once so damn glad he now had that whole secret-agent government 'classified' thing to hide behind.

Seikine-sensei frowned and sighed before scrawling a quick note that excused him from his class as the dark haired teenager in question swiftly packed his bag with a speed that only six years of Potions class with Snape could give you. Shikamaru ignored the staring of his classmates with ease born of familiarity, though he did take note of Tamaki and Kyouya – both having yet to pull their eyes away from the wooden prosthetic attached to Mai's shoulder, but he supposed it was to be expected, hardly anyone in Ouran even had a _scar_, needing a fake arm must have been completely horrifying and out of the realm of imagination for them. Mai was handling it well though, she had really grown into herself and her confidence since the start of the war, she wasn't _overly_ fond of the arm but to be honest, considering the webs of charms, wards and Ancient Rune string sequences carved across it, she actually forgot her arm was wooden and fake most of the time.

Swinging his back on and accepting the slip from Seikine-sensei, Shika followed after Ron as the blind red head left the room, Mai following along behind him, sandwiching him protectively between them – causing a brief flush of warmth in his chest at the protective gesture. Making their way through the halls in silence and down the various flights of stairs, Shika only having to show his pass off the once to one of the Security officers and explaining away Mai and Ron's presence, they eventually reached the gardens and made their way to the cherry-blossom trees where Shika usually ate his lunch when Haruhi was wrapped up in Host Club antics. They could speak here without prying eyes and multi-lingual ears.

Ron punched him before he could open his mouth to say something.

Not that Shikamaru hadn't been expecting it after the scene with Mai, but it still hurt, Ron's arms nearly fracturing his arms and ribs also hurt but he sucked it up.

The three spoke quietly sitting on the floor under the cherry-blossom trees – for once devoid of their pink flowers – Shika explaining about why he'd left and what had happened so far, his cover, poor financial situation, therapy (Ron had muttered something about it being about bloody time he saw a Mind Healer, Mai rather politely set his hair on fire before he could insult the green eyed teenager and the two giggled for a little while as the red head yelped and rolled around on the floor trying to put it out.), his relatives moving to Japan, Ranka and Haruhi, the Hosts and about Princess Michelle's visit. In return, Ron and Mai told him about Fleur's pregnancy – a little girl they were planning on calling Victoire – Fred and George finally getting themselves into a stable relationship – incidentally with another set of twins, non identical, both male, who weren't afraid to fight prank with prank, Shika snorted, it had to have been love then – Dumbledore being removed from his position of Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengmot, the Magical Public going apoplectic over his disappearance, Molly still wanting him to marry Ginny but respecting the fact their feelings were more of the sibling variety towards one another.

Instead she was harassing Charlie to do it instead.

Somewhen during the conversation, exhaustion and fatigue had finally managed to catch up with the unresisting insomniac, Shikamaru ended up curled up between his two best friends out like a light, just listening to their voices as they washed over him, Ron's unusually dexterous fingers threading through his long hair – practically making the seventeen year old purr to the amusement of the other two.

"He must have been really fighting it this time." The brunette muttered as she took Ron's discarded coat and draped it over Shika and themselves at the same time.

Ron merely nodded and began to braid his hair.

-

When Shikamaru woke up, it was dark and he was curled up in his bed at his Apartment sandwiched between two familiar presences, he absently wondered just how they knew where he lived before brushing it aside and going back to sleep.

It was such a rare commodity he had to get as much of it as he could.

-

Shikamaru hadn't shown up for school.

Tamaki chewed his bottom lip in worry, he wasn't... well he was... just a little, but at the same time he wasn't. Argh he didn't know how to explain himself.

He was _worried damnit._ But at the same time, he wasn't, he couldn't be!

So confusing.

Shikamaru-san hadn't shown up for school, those two strangers who seemed to know him and care about him had taken him away the day before, Tamaki had seen them from the clubroom window sitting under one of the flowerless Cherryblossoms, Shikamaru curled up between them asleep. By the time the club was finished, they were gone. And Shikamaru didn't turn up for school.

He fidgeted as he waited for the rest of the club to show up, Kyouya had already started to direct the staff to set out the tables appropriately and was doing his best to ignore the anxious seventeen-year-old as he chewed on his own finger and thumb nails. Kyouya refrained from rolling his eyes at the other teenager as he sat himself down and cracked open his laptop, he had already done some discreet poking around into the name '**Potter**' and damn, the information he received was spotty at best, downright suspicious at worse.

Potter James was indeed a minor Lord, his whole family was steeped in secrecy but it was known that they were considered one of the more approachable of the Nobility – unlike the Blacks and the Malfoys, that was for sure. There was no information on his school life, his education or his employment, it was just a name on a marriage certificate to a commoner woman by the name of Evans Lily, there was a lot more information on her though, even some pictures and Kyouya had to admit, even though their colouring wasn't exactly the same, the resemblance between Lily-san and Shikamaru-san was startling. She was a young genius according to her school records, top of her class until she reached eleven during which she just... vanished, no mention of her secondary school save a small footnote about a private boarding school for the gifted up in Scotland, no doubt where she met Lord Potter. All that followed was her marriage certificate, her son's birth certificate – Potter Harry – and her death certificate, a year and three months after she gave birth to her son. Kyouya ignored the wrench he felt when he'd read that, if Shikamaru-san really _was_ this Potter Harry, he had never known his mother, she had been murdered in a terrorist bombing incident on Halloween, three months after his first birthday.

After that, all records of Potter Harry stated that he was taken in by his Aunt and Uncle, Dursley Vernon and his wife Dursley Petunia – nee Evans, the older sister of Lily-san, and their son Dursley Dudley. After that, his records were less than impressive, for the first term or so of school he too was top of his class but then he was suddenly achieving less than his cousin, there were suspicious absences from school explained away via illness caused by his mother taking drugs during her pregnancy – something that Kyouya didn't believe at all and neither did the school staff either. They all suspected abuse but whenever it was reported to the child services nothing ever came of it, Harry then vanished when he reached eleven, much the same way as his mother which a footnote about that same boarding school.

Apart from that there was no information on Potter Harry save for a number of websites that occasionally mentioned him, mostly LiveJournals of young girls who also attended the same boarding school. He found one picture, three children, barely twelve years old stood in front of a large forest with a lake on their right, a tall red head with blue eyes and a large number of freckles wearing what looked like a second hand uniform, grey trousers, a grey sweater with a yellow and red trim, a yellow and red tie and a long black cloak. A young girl with extremely frizzy brown hair, large brown eyes, slightly large front teeth, her uniform was neatly pressed and immaculate and there were ink stains on her hands, between them was a young boy, the shortest of the group with unruly black hair, glasses and large emerald eyes, his skin was pale and his clothes were a little too big for him, perched on his shoulder was a very familiar white owl.

It was the same girl and boy who had come into the classroom yesterday, he shivered and wondered just what had happened to those three in the last six years to give them such horrific injuries and in the case of Harry-san, prompted him to flee the country and go under witness protection.

"Haruhi! Haruhi! Shikamaru didn't show up for class! You live next to him right is he OK? Did those evil charlatans do away with him?!" Tamaki flailed, practically tackling the young girl and shaking her frantically in his worry. Kyouya shook his head, out of all of them, it seemed as though Tamaki and Hani-senpai had become the most protective of the young trauma victim, though he didn't know why, Hani-senpai he could see, Shikamaru-san did after all learn hand to hand from his younger brother and treat him like someone his actual age. Tamaki though... Shikamaru-san barely tolerated him half the time, maybe he was just trying to win points from Har- no he wasn't that cunning, he was genuinely worried.

Haruhi yelped and held her hands out defensively, "Tamaki-senpai calm down!" She squeaked, "Shika's fine, tousan met Mai-san and Ron-san last night when they brought him up, they're old school friends of his. Shika's just had a break down; they're taking care of him." She explained, hopefully they would be forcing him to sleep and eat something right now.

Tamaki deflated slightly, "Oh. Alright, I was just a little worried. It's not like him to miss class."

Haruhi shrugged a shoulder, "It was going to happen sooner or later. His insomnia has been increasing lately." She explained before moving to go and put her bag in one of the side rooms and get started with her Host Club duties as Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai returned from their club activities in the Sports Hall.

Tamaki frowned slightly; maybe he should pay them a visit? Make sure Shikamaru-san was alright himself, Haruhi was too trusting on occasion, who knows what might happen to his classmate in their hands, he was small and delicate and they were obviously ruffians of the worst sort. After all, who on earth has a wooden arm without being evil? He'd seen all the films. Though usually it's a wooden leg and a claw on their hand, but he supposed that since she was a girl allowances had to be made.

Bloody pirates.

-

Completely unaware that a certain blonde idiot had decided she was a pirate, Hermione Granger turned the oven off, put on the oven mitts and took out tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and set them on the oven top, glancing over her shoulder in fond amusement at her boys still asleep in the other room. Harry was curled up into tight ball, she'd spelled his uniform into red cotton pyjamas with little phoenix flying across them – he would hate them and demand she changed them back but it was still really cute – Ron was sprawled out beside him, arm hugging the smaller teenager against his side as he snored with his mouth open. Before she'd gotten up, Hermione would have been on the other side of Harry, wrapped around him tightly, protecting his back just like she used to, judging by the frown on Harry's face and the way his eyes were shifting restlessly he was a little anxious over her disappearance.

The young witch hummed happily as she went about setting the cookies onto a wire cooling rack, they should be ready by the time those two dragged themselves up. Harry had always been an early bird but she could see that he needed as much rest and fattening up as possible, maybe then he'll return to being the person he used to be. Hopefully.

Crookshanks meowed from where he was winding around her legs, demanding attention, smiling, she bent down and scooped him up before joining Harry and Ron in the bedroom, sitting herself down on the other futon they'd lain out with Crookshanks in her lap, brushing Harry's back with her knee causing the minute lines that creased his face to ease as he recognised her. Smiling, the short haired girl showered attention onto her kneazle cross as she waited for the scent of food to awaken Ron, who would no doubt accidentally wake Harry. Then they would eat cookies, unpack their things and be together like they used to be, Hermione Anna Granger didn't lose her boys to Voldemort and the war, she certainly wasn't going to lose them now simply because they were growing up and apart.

Ron grunted and rolled over, squishing Harry.

-

**I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT.**

**You guys have been absolute **_STARS_** you really have. If it were possible, I'd feed you original glaze Krispy Kreme Donuts, you've all been absolutely wonderful. Thank you **_**so**_** much.**

**I want to thank everyone for their kind words in regards to my grandpa, we've had an update recently, the reason why everyone was so worried is that he had been suffering from Prostate Cancer for a good five years now, but never told anyone, so we were all extremely concerned because the doctors said that because he had not had treatment sooner there were a few complications. Now, being over 600 miles away from my grandparents me and the family got extremely worried as we had heard nothing aside from him having the cancer. My Aunt has given us a call, it's not terminal but there are a few complications as I mentioned before due to his refusal of treatment. (His excuse was that he didn't want to cause a fuss. I wanted to hit him and then cry all over him for that, we fuss because we care you idiot.) They're not serious but my Uncle Wullie has decided to change his shifts to Part Time so he can be there to care for them more, same with my Auntie Alison, she's planning to make the trip up to them a little more often. **

**I moved out two weeks back and the internet in the house doesn't like me much, XDD so its been a bit awkward with that one, thankfully Ashly came around and sorted it all out for me so much hugs and kisses for him. Now I just have to get some Anti-virus software and a decent Microsoft Word programme for it as all my story documents are viciously hated by my laptop (sadface). I write this to you now on my work computer during a few free hours (They don't give me much work sadly, XDD but what work I do get tends to take a while.) which means I'm paranoid and minimising and closing the window whenever anyone walks in my general direction XDD;**

**Hmm..... what else... oh yes, my sister-in-law is still pregnant but she's due any day now, so I might have to stall the next update for a while due to the new little baby and the fact I may end up having to babysit my nephew. **

**Oh yes, and I have contact lenses 8DD I have pretty eyes, I never really noticed before due to the glasses always getting in the way but I do have pretty eyes. X3**

**Anywho, thoughts, comments, feedback, hugs and kisses and donuts. Review! 8DDDDDD**

Araceil

(PS: Yes, Tamaki thinks Hermione and Ron are pirates. –shrug- I thought it would be funny.)

**Updates will now be monthly at the very least now I'm afriad. I'll update as much as I can but I garantee there will at least be one chapter up a month. That I can promise you my lovely readers.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Black Birds**

-

Haruhi sighed as she made her way up the stairs of her Apartment block, ignoring the gaggle of idiots that trailed after her like chicks after a mother hen, the Hosts wanted to see Shika-kun, they wanted to make sure those strangers hadn't hurt him. So did she, but she recognised them from the sketches in his notebooks, from the stories he'd told her, she knew they would _never_ harm him – regardless of what that punch may have suggested.

"Calm down Tamaki-senpai." She admonished as they came to a stop outside, "He told me where he keeps his spare key, just in case. So there will be no breaking down the door, or trying to pick the lock, or calling Kyouya-senpai's protective detail." She ordered, narrowing her eyes and she knelt and felt around under the doorframe briefly before pulling out a shiny key with a nub of blue-tack stuck to the back.

She paused briefly; eyeing the key before deciding that just going in would be impolite, the only female Host slipped the key back to where she found it and knocked on the front door, "Shika-kun? It's me Haruhi, are you alright? Shika?" She called through the wood of the door, not hearing any reply before there was a thud and a groan. The Hosts exchanged looks a split second before the door cracked open slightly, a pair of honeyed brown eyes peering out before opening the door fully – revealing Hermione Granger in all of her half-dressed glory.

Tamaki and the twins went _bright_ red at the sight of the Gryffindor woman in nothing but a bra and a pair of black boxers that obviously weren't hers, Kyouya's eyes yet again went to her prosthetic arm, this time being able to note the very, very thinly carved designs that spiralled across it along with the thick scarring on her shoulder, scarring that looked rather familiar. Takashi was frowning _ever so slightly_, wondering why she was in such a state of undress and answering the door, Mitsukuni however was staring at her in surprise, there was _muscle_ on that girl, she held herself the same way that Shika did during the first few days of meeting him.

"_Whaddyawan?_" She demanded, her voice rough and sleep slurred as she rubbed at her mussed up hair and glowered at them.

Haruhi looked at the other two in embarrassment, her English still wasn't the best, Kyouya nodded and stepped forward as it seemed like Tamaki was too embarrassed over her state of semi-nudity to do much more than stare at the floor. "_We were hoping to speak with Shikamaru-san._"

She blinked at them in sleepy confusion, "_Shikam- oh you mean Harry. Yeah sure, c'min. Might take a while to wake the limpet up though._" She stated, stepping aside so the Hosts could come in, stepping over Crookshanks absently as she made her way back into the bedroom where her boys were sleeping.

Harry wore red sweats and went shirt-less curled up under Ron's arm, using his chest as a pillow, the red head sprawled out on his back wearing boxers and a T-shirt, Hermione had been half on Harry, using him as a pillow with her head resting on Ron's thigh, it was very comfortable and now all they were missing was Luna, Ginny and Neville to complete the knot of human limbs they used to be once upon a time ago.

The Hosts blinked at the sight of them sprawled out across the two pushed together Futons, more in specific on the scars that were etched onto Shikamaru's back, for most of them, this was the first time they had ever seen the marks the Death Eaters had left upon their classmate. Mitsukuni's features had bleached _white_, the rest of the Hosts, save for Kyouya and Haruhi had gone pale as well, Tamaki's eyes flickering from the scar on Shikamaru's shoulder onto the one on Hermione's, obviously recognising them to be the work of the same person.

Hermione knelt down and pressed against Shika's back, whispering in his ear, the Hosts shifted uncomfortably at the nearly intimate scene before green eyes snapped open, instantly aware and locking onto them.

"Can I help you?" He asked, not bothering to move from his safe haven of human limbs as Ron grunted and muttered something about spiders and bacon and Mai draped herself on his back, eyeing them warily.

"We wanted to see if you were alright, you missed school today." Haruhi admitted, "Kyouya-senpai said that a pair of strangers had come to see you and we got concerned."

Harry nodded, "Well I'm alright. This is Weasley Ron and Granger Hermione, my old school friends." He introduced, nodding to each of them, "_Hermione, this is the Ouran Highschool Host Club. Tamaki Suou – the tall blonde – is the president, Kyouya Ootori – the one with the glasses – is the Shadow King, the twins – Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin – Haruhi Fujioka – my neighbour, the only girl of the group – Mitsukuni Haninozuka – the small blonde – and lastly Takashi Morinozuka – Haninozuka-senpai's cousin, the really tall one with the dark hair._" He introduced, before burrowing his face into Ron's stomach tiredly.

"_Nice to meet you._" Hermione greeted lazily.

"_Nice to meet you._" Haruhi echoed nervously.

"_Great, fantastic, wonderful, we're all friends now. Can you leave? Harry's fallen asleep and I'd kind of like to join him._" The red head grunted, cracking open a horrifically mutilated blind eye to frown at the Hosts, making Tamaki rear back in horror and disgust.

"_Oh! Sorry._" Haruhi squeaked, she quickly turned around and ushered the Hosts out, letting the three go back to sleep, Takashi pausing just long enough to stroke Crookshanks as he wound around their legs looking for attention.

"How rude." Hikaru grunted irritably as Haruhi closed the door behind them.

"Oh shush." The brunette told him absently, "Be thankful he's sleeping properly now. Maybe he won't throw you across the room for tapping his shoulder."

The red head grimaced. That... had not been fun.

-

There had been a marked improvement over Shikamaru's temperament and grades of the next few days, he managed to smile and make quiet conversation with people he would have normally hidden from – i.e. girls, his grades shot back up to their previous placement at the beginning of the year and he generally seemed happier than he had been all year.

The only downside was he'd left all his clubs, this confused and concerned everyone, especially when they saw the two strange foreigners at the school gates every day to pick him up, a number that had suddenly increased to include another boy and two girls. Rumours flew like you wouldn't believe when the school newspaper got a hold of the story, suddenly he was everything from an elite assassin, an English Mafia heir, the illegitimate son of Princess Diana and her unknown lover, a popstar on the run from rabid fans – close enough, it just went on and on and on. Harry ignored them, he was used to ridiculous rumours flying around and really, they would die down soon enough, Ouran had like... five years within the single one, by next week the rumours would be gone or turned onto what colour Suou's underwear was that day.

He couldn't have been happier, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny had all decided to pack up and come to Japan, unfortunately his little apartment was a bit cramped with all three of them and their stuff – thank god for Shrinking Charms and Hermione. Ron was teasing him about buying a huge mansion to fit in with his school friends and give them all a separate wing for themselves, Shika told him that if he wanted it so much he was welcome to build it himself, he was happy with his apartment, Hermione and Ginny promptly laughed at the sulking red head – he only wanted to move because he kept stubbing his toe on the step to the living room and bashing his head against the ceiling when he stood up. He was a fair few inches taller than Morinozuka-senpai to be honest.

Either way, he slept like a baby surrounded on all sides by his 'family', all of them with their wands hidden upon their person – and some explosives on Ginny's which made snuggling a hazardous activity, which meant he wasn't too happy to wake up to the sound of some adolescent bitch screeching and swearing outside. The dark haired teenager groaned and rolled over, hoping that whatever disturbance there was would be silenced soon, when it didn't he slithered free of the tangled mess of sprawled limbs and staggered out of his apartment, uncaring of his current state of undress, wearing a pair of sleep shorts and one of Neville's T-shirts before banging into Haruhi's apartment and smacking the shouting girl around the back of the head.

"People are sleeping. Shut – Up." he snarled at her, "Be thankful you have a father who loves you! Now shut _UP_!" He grit out before turning to Haruhi and Ranka, pausing briefly at Misuzu on the floor, he made no comment. "What is going on?" he demanded rubbing a hand through his hair and pulling up the collar of the shirt he was wearing before it slipped off his bony shoulder.

"Well..." Ranka trailed off, before launching into her explanation of Mei and Misuzu's relationship and the current predicament, followed by Ranka and Haruhi's offer to put Mei-chan up in their apartment while she was in Japan so Misuzu wouldn't have to worry needlessly over her safety. Shika gave the blonde girl a glare to strip skin, ungrateful bitch, he thought bitterly before he was promptly glomped by a near hysterical Misuzu.

And that was how he ended up joining Ranka and Haruhi in helping Misuzu and Mei-chan.

Shikamaru sighed as he marched back into his apartment, fully intent on getting more sleep before noticing the clock and groaning pathetically, it was time to get up anyway. He didn't notice the muffled conversation in Haruhi's apartment, but he did notice the stifled laughter in the bedroom before deciding to conjure a pan of cold water over them.

The shrieking and the curses he had to dodge were so worth it.

-

Shikamaru tried not to pay much attention to the whole 'Mei and Misuzu-san' issue, family business should stay in the family, occasionally helping Haruhi out when his work with the Nippon Mahou shou(1) allowed him the time. Thankfully, Hitsugaya-taichou had been _ecstatic_ when the other members of the DA approached her about joining the department as full time operatives – as long as they had the leeway to have jurisdiction when it came to Death Eater activities, which there would definitely be an increase of now that they'd all shifted overseas as they would, quite correctly, assume that they were going to join Harry.

Shika's only problem now was the Host Club.

When Haruhi had skipped out on her second club meeting, it was him that Tamaki came flailing his arms to, Shika couldn't even get a word in edgewise with Tamaki shrieking and sobbing so much, it took a particularly panicked and pleading look to Kyouya to get the dark haired Demon Host to help him. The Ootori son smirked slightly but never the less reigned his bestfriend in and allowed Shika to finish up his classwork and beat a hasty retreat when the bell rang, he wasn't surprised that Kyouya knew the situation, he and Ranka were net-buddies, a concept that was actually rather terrifying.

After his classes at Ouran, Shika often joined Haruhi in showing Mei around the city, he didn't bother changing his uniform overly much like Haruhi did, just pulled his tie and blazer off and shoved them in his backpack – he didn't think those strange briefcase bookbag things were very practical. First day they'd just wondered around the general area, showing her where everything was and getting ice cream at the park while Ginny, Hermione and Mei talked up a storm, Harry got the impression that some kind of unholy alliance had been formed without his knowledge but wisely didn't comment on it – Ginny still had explosives hidden in her hair.

The next day though.... the Hosts decided to join them.

Harry sighed as he leaned against the wall and ignored the way Haruhi and Mei chatted for a moment, he was fiddling with Ginny's braid – being careful not to dislodge the primer cord she had hidden in the thick scarlet mane. His ex-girlfriend had grown up a great deal since they'd broken up, her skin had remained the same pale shade, making all her freckles stand out, her eyes had gained a kind of edge to them that reminded Harry of a drawn blade, eager to bite into flesh, he supposed they all had that slight edge to them now, she had allowed her hair to grow very long, it now hung just past her rear end in a thick, tightly weaved braid, various illegal substances hidden within the thick rope. She had survived the war with the least amount of scarring between the whole lot, she had been captured but it had been by Draco Malfoy and despite what Ron and Harry may have believed, he had been the one to purposely allow her to escape in the end. At the most, she had several burn scars and an unpleasant looking chemical-burn-like scar at the small of her back, she had been hit with a flesh eating Dark Arts curse, Harry had literally shattered the enchantment on her within seconds of it landing, terrified that it would have reached her spine in that scant few seconds she was under it.

Luna was still largely the same, she'd gone the opposite route to Ginny and cut her hair extremely short, feathered around her skull and making her look almost like some kind of mischievous pixie, her skin was tanned from spending so much time outside, her slightly protruding blue eyes were icy and calculative as well as slightly vacant, she had suffered from some extremely bad trauma in the form of Legilimency and Cruciatus over a three day period. They hadn't raped her or tortured her, she was a Seer, if she was raped, then it would destroy her gift and she would be useless to the Death Eaters, however, her will was incredibly strong and she refused to be a Prophesy tool for them, she fought them at every opportunity, hence the burn and blade marks up her hands and arms, and her missing ring finger. She had also taken a liking for the Muslim style of clothing, finding the loose but colourful and elegant clothing comfortable and very nice, while the others had been worried about her accidentally insulting people she hadn't been all that caring – she knew she meant no harm, shouldn't everyone else realise that?

Neville had remained unchanged, there was a long scar down the side of his face, running over his left eye and down to his jaw from where he had narrowly avoided a Cutting curse from Bellatrix Lestrange during one of the final battles, he had _**almost **_caught the bitch with a returning _Reducto_ but she was too quick and the backlash from Harry's killing of Voldemort caused everyone on the entire field to be knocked off their feet when Voldemort's magic self destructed in his body. His brown hair was longer, hanging around his face and framing his strong angular features, his brown eyes were kind but there was strength there, his skin was tanned from tending to his planets and he had truly come into his potential as both a Wizard and an Elementalist, his skill lying in Plants and the very earth that grew them. It was something else to watch him turn a harmless ivy plant into _carnivorous_ Ivy Thorn – a magical variation of a Sinksnare wild rose, muggle ivy and Devil's Snare – and then turn it onto a fleeing group of Death Eaters. He had bulked up, he wasn't as tall as Ron but he was broader and had definite muscle over the red head, who had taken after his brothers in becoming lanky.

The six of them, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny, had decided to join Haruhi today as the others had the day off from work with the promise that tomorrow they would all be in on time and work their arses off – Harry was still not allowed on field work until Orihime said so meaning he would be stuck with the reports. The words '_Do not want_' came to Shikamaru's mind at that point.

"It seems as though we agree on something Miss." Tamaki's voice snapped Shika out of his fiddling and inner thoughts, Luna was already throwing her arms around Hikaru and wrapping her leg around him, much to the surrounding girls' surprise and Hikaru's alarm as he squeaked and tried to jump away – not likely, Luna had a killer grip – and Kaoru and Haninozuka laughed. Shika sighed and rolled his eyes, "Its a pleasure to meet you," The blonde continued, as though a miniature brawl wasn't breaking out behind him as Luna attempted to rape one of his Hosts, "My name is Suou Tamaki and these are my happy friends." He introduced, extending a hand out to the stunned high-school freshman, her tanned features taking on a red hue as she blushed.

The dark haired male ignored the proceedings between Tamaki, Haruhi and Mei in favour of watching Hermione and Ron attempt to dissuade Luna from crawling into Hikaru's shirt, it wasn't working all that well, he chuckled as Ginny leaned against him, wrapping his arms around her and playing with his fingers.

"He's not going to win is he?" She asked lightly, smiling beatifically at the unmanly squeaking Hikaru was emitting, along with the girlish shriek when Luna took it a step too far and actually licked him.

"Not a chance." Harry agreed with a chuckle, "Pip, give it a rest." he called to the blonde, Luna pouted but never the less ceased in her attempts to get into Hikaru's clothing.

Ron gave Harry a frustrated look for not stepping in sooner but the dark haired male merely smirked.

"That's enough! Let's go!!" Mei shouted, grabbing Haruhi's wrist and beginning to drag her away, "I don't get these guys." The blonde huffed irately as Haruhi spluttered and stumbled along after her.

"Mei-chan my house isn't -

"I'm pissed off!" The girl snapped, "Let's go Karaoke! Its your fault so you're treating!" The 16-year-old demanded, not noticing the way Tamaki and the twins' faces lit up – Hikaru avoiding Luna who was eyeing him in a rather predatory way – at the mention of karaoke or the way Shikamaru paled and attempted to slip away only to have Ginny grab his arms and Neville stand behind him with a sneaky grin on his face as he subtly pushed the reluctant black haired male after the furious blonde girl as she stormed down the street, limo crawling along beside her.

The Karaoke hadn't actually been too bad, things got a little interesting when Kyouya suggested Shika take a turn and it took nearly all his friends to drag him into the room and a promise of treacle tart topped with melted Mars bar to convince him to sing anything half decent. He ended up singing a song from a musical he remembered his Aunt liking, Moulin Rouge, which just opened the road for other musicals – a mistake when one considered how Hermione _**adored**_ musicals, Harry hadn't been allowed to step down until they'd done numbers from Rent, Wicked, Avenue Q, Chicago and even the new musical Dreamboats and Petticoats. Harry was actually rather shocked they even had the songs in a Japanese Karaoke bar. It had been funny when she somehow managed to convince everyone to join in on singing La Vie Boheme from Rent and when she and Luna duetted for Loathing from Wicked.

All in all, it wasn't a bad evening.

-

Takashi Morinozuka had a problem.

He thought he was getting a crush on someone, he wasn't certain, he hardly knew the person and anyway...... wasn't he attracted to girls? Lately he'd been having some of _those_ dreams, the subject material of which had been.... awkward, to say the least.

He sighed minutely and blew a strand of dark hair from his face as he watched Tamaki play the piano and the twins assist Haruhi in cleaning up Misuzu's pensione, he was very confused, he had always assumed his sexuality was something that had been settled, he liked girls but he could appreciate the male form just as easily if not in quite the same way. But lately he had.... his face grew warm and Mitsukuni gave him a sideways glance and cheeky little smile, knowing full well what his cousin was thinking about, the Morinozuka heir promptly decided to help Misuzu and fix the fence Tamaki had trashed earlier in the week – if only to avoid his cousin's gentle ribbing over his less than wholesome thoughts.

But either way, he was frustrated with himself, he hardly knew this person very well and yet he was still.... perhaps he should make more of an effort to get to know him? He seemed a lot more approachable lately than he had before hand, even if he were not that keen on those whose company he was keeping these days, he had seen that woman sitting outside the apartments drinking a can of beer in a pair of shorts and a tanktop sunbathing – not in the least bothered by the fact she was underage, half naked and in public.

The others..... he found the little pixie girl amusing, especially her behaviour and oddly insightful and perceptive moments, even her airy ones where she would go on a tangent about mythical beats that didn't exist, all the while trying to sneak up on Hikaru. The poor red head was beginning to get a little frazzled over the attention. But it was the red headed girl that put his back up the most, she was constantly there, touching him, near him, didn't she know of his Aphephobia? Or was she one of the very few who didn't set it off? It looked to be the latter and he couldn't help the violent stab of jealousy – he snuffed it out and stomped it down as best he could but it was difficult sometimes.

But then...... he looked at them when they were all together, the whole group, taking them in as objectively as possible and felt something twist inside of him, they just...... _fit_, all their jagged edges, the raw open wounds, the scars and missing limbs, they painted a picture of a past that was dark and violent but they were alright because they had each other. The jealousy was a lot harder to push aside upon that realisation.

He didn't pay much attention as Tamaki outlined his latest plan for getting Mei and Misuzu-san together, though at the thought of a ruffian his mind conjured images of Haruhi attempting to cosplay a yakuza gang-member, sunglasses an one of those anime style 'ki'(2) scars across her cheek. He refrained from chuckling but he did find his attention getting caught by the information that there would be a shrine festival a week from now in Haruhi's local area.

Would Akegata-san be attending?

He leaned back when everyone looked at him to play the part of the ruffian, an embarrassed flush beginning to crawl up the back of his neck, he couldn't threaten a girl like that, even one who could take care of herself as affectively as Mei-chan seemed to. It went against every code of morals, honour and ethics his grandfather had given him since he was old enough to toddle.

He swiftly declined the role.

-

He was in hell.

They were torturing him for throwing that pan of cold water over them several days back.

Shikamaru trailed along after the ecstatic girls contemplating whether or not he could get away with vanishing while their attention was elsewhere – no luck, Ron had a tight grip on his arm all of a sudden.

"If I have to suffer, so do you." He whispered into Harry's ear, smirking slightly when he saw the colours that swirled around his friend change and become agitated. He may have lost his eyes, but he gained something else far more important to someone of his profession, magic sight. "C'mon, at least they can't force you into a womens' yukata this time, you can buy your own before they can force it on you." He reminded the darker haired teenager.

"That is a damn good point and I would kiss you if it weren't incestuous." Harry replied, smirking at the look that twisted onto Ron's face.

"Ew."

Shikamaru laughed before yelping as Ginny grabbed his arm and dragged him into another kimono store, babbling about a gorgeous pale blue yukata with a lavender obi that would look fantastic on Luna and how they needed a man's opinion.

He could only hope that they found the outfits they wanted before his arm found itself dislocated.

-

**Finito XD**

**Again, thank you everyone for your patience.**

**I have an update.**

**My sister in law gave birth on the 16th of April to little girl Ava May Shaw, she was 7 pounds and 11 ounces with dark hair and eyes, according to the midwives 'she's the most laid back baby we've ever seen'. I'll believe it. XD She's really cute and her big brother Finnley has really taken to having her around. That'll change in a few years ;D.**

**I'm due to sit my mock exams for my Apprenticeship NVQ in Business Administration so wish me luck – i'm going to need it. After that I should be getting a lot more training at work, I'll be starting another NVQ as well in Customer Care so fingers crossed. Things at the house are great, I have somehow adopted Ruth's cat as he likes me most (probably because i'm the only one who gets up early enough to feed him in the mornings) and I've been working hard on my other stories.**

**I fund the notebook for When Worlds Collide so there should be an update of that soon and I will be putting up the first chapter of Resonance, a long term project that I haven't posted until I had at least 10 chapters waiting on my memory stick. Soon that will have Lightning on the Wave added to it as I just have one more chapter to finish before I will allow myself to post.**

**Again, you're all fantastic and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. The support and understanding you've all given me is incredible and I am truly touched. Thank you again, there isn't enough times that I can say that.**

**1- Nippon Mahou Shou:** I reread some reviews when I was having a bad day and came across a grammatical suggestion from a reviewer (you know who you are ;D) and I double checked my Japanese notes, still not too certain about it but it does flow better so you have my thanks. I'll be going through and editing the other chapters when I have some free time later.

**2- Ki scar:** Y'know how in anime they sometimes make scars as just a line with a few other lines going through it? Well it resembles the katakana ki quite a lot, thus spawning the statement.

**Yes, Takashi is getting naughty thoughts about Shika. Like I said in the beginning, this is a slow romance here, Shika is still quite damaged from the Death Eaters and the war, its going to take time and effort and a heck of a lot of patience on both sides to make it work.**

Araceil


	16. Chapter 16

**Black Birds**

-

Shikamaru grunted, all the air driven out of his lungs, eyes flying open in alarm as _something_ landed on his chest – hard – waking him up.

A shriek of delight and feminine laughter, warm and fond as opposed to insane and evil, calmed him down before he killed anything leaving Harry to stare. Dressed in a cute onesie with cartoon dragons rolling around on it, his hair cycling between merry pink and cheerful sunshine yellow was his 8 month old Godson.

His brain went on a three second standstill.

Hermione chuckled from where she was stood beside Andromeda, watching as Ted Lupin met his godfather for the first time in his life, and the way Harry just froze. She found it funny because her friend could face off against the foulest, evillest men and women on the planet without batting an eyelid but the sight of a child, a really cute one at that, made him freeze up in abject terror.

"Poor thing." She muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm as Andromeda whipped out her digital camera and took a quick picture of her grandson giggling and squirming on the dark haired teenager's chest. She smiled when he immediately caught the child before he tumbled off and away from him and looked up with shocked and confused green eyes, holding the giggling infant against his bare chest as he sat up.

"Romie?" He asked in surprise, looking at the woman who wriggled her fingers at him, cheeky smile on her face.

"Harry." She greeted, blue eyes glinting with mischievousness, "You... left without saying goodbye." She declared, those eyes narrowing slightly as she planted her hands on her hips. A mutter of '_oh-no mum-moment_' came from Ron in the other room and Hermione swiftly excused herself, leaving Harry alone at the mercy of a grandmother and his godson in little more than his pyjama bottoms and a pair of socks.

Needless to say, the stunned look on Harry's face ten minutes later got a good laugh out of everyone else.

-

Thank all the gods above for Mei and Ranka.

Shikamaru fidgeted awkwardly, none of them had even the faintest idea of how to tie an Obi or properly dress in the yukata they'd purchased for the festival, so Harry had swallowed his pride and asked the 'girls' next-door to give them a hand.

He'd then had to sit through Ranka and Mei arguing, the former saying that he would look wonderful in a womens' yukata while Mei was adamant that he should remain in the one he already had. Shika had then decided that discretion was the better part of valour and slipped over to where Haruhi was helping Ginny with her obi, listening as she talked him through wearing it properly. After the harrowing shopping event of yesterday past, Shika had landed himself with a second hand yukata and tie, it was a dark inky blue with a ghostly depiction of a white and silver fox flowing down towards his ankles trimmed in dark-dark bluish green with the tie being the same dark bluish green.

Ginny had gotten herself a second hand Furisode and obi, it had no design printed or embroidered across the fabric, but it was gorgeous none the less, starting at a vibrant yellow before fading to orange, red, crimson and then black, almost like a sunset in reverse, her obi was a dark emerald green tied tightly to emphasize her thin waist and flared hips as opposed to her small chest and providing a complimentary colour contrast to the sunset furisode.

Luna was wearing the purple and silvery blue yukata that they'd seen earlier, it was expensive – the most expensive of all the clothes they'd bought because it had been brand-new store bought – but she looked stunning in it, the silvery blue yukata was patterned with white lilac and pale purple aster blossoms, her obi a creamy lavender colour with paler dragon flies and bamboo shoots printed onto it and her short feathered blonde hair had a set of amethyst clips pinning unruly strands from her eyes.

Neville wore a simple mens' yukata patterned in brown and gold, bringing out the autumn colours of his hair brought in the same second-hand shop as the girls' yukata, the faded leaf pattern on the cotton fabric matching the current change in the season. Ron had opted not to wear any traditional clothing, he was a bit worried that he may trip over himself and damage them so they let him be but forced him to at least wear a smart shirt and tied a dark red headband around his eyes, a golden dragon embroidered onto the fabric. At least he would be joining in a little now.

Hermione had surprised them though; they thought that the studious women would have refused to wear a yukata but she was getting right into the swing of things, she'd found her second hand yukata in the same store as Ginny and fallen in love with it on first sight. An uncommon fact about their friend was that she adored butterflies, so the pale yellow yukata with the blue obi covered in red, blue, purple and orange butterflies in various large abstract styles had practically had her salivating to get her hands on it.

All of the second hand yukata had needed some serious TLC as they were quite faded and sorry looking, but after some clever wand work from Ginny and Hermione they were as good as new and just as gorgeous.

Haruhi and Mei had gone on ahead with Ginny and Luna while Harry cuddled his godson happily, the usually giggling child was rather put out, his mother had used a charm to force his metamorphagus abilities down, leaving him with soft downy black hair and brown eyes. He was pouting now and holding onto Harry tightly, dressed in a pale orange onesie(1) a rather sorry looking kneazle plushie clutched in one hand, his tail all lumpy from where little hands had squeezed all the stuffing into clumps. Andromeda was busy getting everything they may have needed tossed into a nappy bag(2), she was dressed in a smart but elegant blue skirt and white long sleeved top, a black choker around her throat and a pair of high-heeled boots waiting for her beside the door.

"I'm really sorry about this Harry- oop, I mean Shika. Why couldn't you have chosen an easier name like Haruki?" The woman demanded with a huff as Hermione giggled slightly into Ron and Neville just smirked.

"I didn't choose my name Romie." Harry pointed out with a chuckle as he gently stroked the back of his godson's head, silently marvelling at how soft his hair was. "You ready?" He asked.

"Yes, yes." She stated, slipping her shoes on, bag over one shoulder and closing the door behind her before Crookshanks could escape, the ginger feline looking mutinous as he sat on the porch, undoubtedly Harry's curtains were going to be shredded when they got back. Crookshanks did not like being cooped up in the slightest, neither did Hedwig but she was currently staying with Kasanoda Ritsu – with the number of people who insisted on dropping round and staying with him, Harry was beginning to consider buying himself a house just so there would be enough room.

"Is Dudley going to be there?" Hermione asked, she knew that the two cousins had been improving their friendship a lot lately, especially when Harry came clean about some of the things he'd done while fighting the Death Eaters. She too had been warming to Dudley a fair bit, he wasn't nearly as pig-headed as she remembered or quite so morbidly obese.

Shika nodded, "Yep, he's going with some school friends of his from Ouron so there's no way his parents will be there as well."

'_His parents_', not '_Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon_', Ron and Hermione exchanged glances and smiled, the latter leaning her head against the former's shoulder as they watched their bestfriend poke his godson's tummy, prompting another round of giggles from the infant. He was finally starting to heal properly.

When they arrived the festivities were in full swing, Dudley was attempting to pronounce a hellishly complicated food with help from his new friends, they were all laughing uproariously and generally acting like teenagers. Shika shook his head wistfully, if only... He snorted in laughter when Ginny practically tackled into his cousin, crawling up his back to hang over his shoulder and greet him, her long cable-like braid being grabbed by Ron who calmly tugged her off the startled blonde.

"Behave yourself little sister." He admonished, looking at her with blind eyes.

Harry chuckled as the two siblings kicked off, Luna was chattering dreamily at Morinozuka-senpai who was listening with half an ear as he examined some bird like things in a stand, Haninozuka-senpai was attempting to drag Haruhi off for cotton candy while the twins were shouting something about Yakisoba, green eyes flitted around the festivities and spotted Ritsu before he grinned and made his way over.

"Ritsu, Tetsuya, I didn't expect to see you here." He greeted, shifting Teddy as he fussed slightly.

"Shika-san, good evening." Tetsuya greeted happily, "We're here to support the young master! He's helping his friend." He declared proudly as Ritsu blushed slightly and shuffled.

A dark eyebrow rose, "The Hosts haven't dragged you into anything hairbrained again have they?" He asked in exasperation, listening with half an ear as Mei pulled Tamaki away to get her a gift, Ginny and Kyouya were chatting and probably plotting against him much to Harry's irritation – loved her like a sister he did, but he didn't appreciate the trouble he tended to get into because of her – and Andromeda laughing as she was wooed by the Hitachiin twins.

"N-not as such." He hedged, shifting, "They're trying to get that girl and her father together again, they said that if I threatened her and when her father came to help and show how manly he was they could be a family again." He explained quickly when he caught the slight furrowing of his friend's eyebrows; he quickly cast around for another subject before his friend stomped over and smacked Ootori-san. "U-um, what's with the baby?" He asked, eyeing the bundle of orange squirming in Harry's arms.

Shika smiled and shifted the infant a little higher on his hip, "Ritsu, this is my godson Teddy Lupin."

"_HRRRN!? God__**son**__?!_" The red head spluttered in surprise, causing a few heads to snap around, specifically the Hosts, Shikamaru laughed, a genuine light and happy laugh, at his reaction.

"Yes Ritsu. I did just say that didn't I? Oh pick your jaw up off the ground." He told him, a true smile settling onto his lips as Teddy giggled and managed to get a chubby little hand in his hair and yanked it, the teenager winced and leant his head down, shifting his arms and untangling the infant's hand from his hair, "_No Teddy. You don't pull hair_." He told the child firmly as he pushed the loose black strands away. "I knew I should have pulled this back." He grumbled.

Ritsu looked at the child, he would have offered to take him but he knew that his scary face would have made the baby cry, he dug in his pocket for a hairband and quickly scooted behind his friend, "I-I'll do it, you have your hands full." He reasoned, blushing darkly as he quickly gathered the wavy fall of black hair and pulled it into a loose pony-tail at the nape of his neck where little hands couldn't grab at it.

"Thanks Ritsu. Hey, you want to hold him?"

The Yakuza heir reared back in fear, "B-But I'll make him cry!" He squeaked, shaking his head.

Harry rolled his eyes and plonked the giggling child into his arms, "Oh don't be so dramatic. He's a baby, his eyesight isn't that good." He admonished, watching in amusement as Teddy squealed and giggled, wriggling in his friend's arms before reaching out and grabbing hold of his long red hair.

"Hrrrn! Ow! Ow, ow!" He whimpered as the child waved his arms, hair still clasped tightly in his chubby fist, Shika laughed again as he gently untangled his godson's fingers.

Andromeda laughed and said in English, "_Sorry about that, Teddy likes to pull hair. I should have warned you._"

Shika snorted, allowing Ritsu to hold the energetic infant a while longer, "_Lies._" He teased making the older woman laugh.

"_Come on Shika, introduce me to your friends._" She declared with a grin as the dark haired male shook his head, his smile a little shy now, he and Andromeda had only really bonded over Teddy, as such, he was still a little nervous about her.

"Ritsu, allow me to introduce Tonks Andromeda, she's Teddy's grandmother." He introduced, smiling at the older woman who made a sweeping bow to make Tamaki proud and smiled warmly, "_Romie, this is my friend Ritsu Kasanoda and his family and friends, Tetsuya and the Brothers of the Kasanoda-gumi. Don't worry; they're not as scary as they look._" He added teasingly, making Ritsu blush, his English was good enough to know what was being said.

Andromeda laughed, "_If Teddy likes them then it speaks well enough for their character. Just like his mother, he knows what kind of people he likes._" She admitted with a bitter sweet smile that was echoed by Shikamaru as he remembered the vibrant woman who managed to worm her way into Remus's heart and claim the title of honorary Aunt from Harry.

"_Harry, Harry, there's a hoop-throwing contest over here! They have a _**HUGE**_ stuffed Panda as the prize, I want it! Get it for me, please Shika, please!?_" Ginny exclaimed, throwing herself on her bestfriend and dragging him off towards the game booths.

Andromeda laughed, "_That girl, she's so much like her Uncles it almost painful. Oh do excuse me, I'm rather unfamiliar with the area and I need to keep close to our group, you don't mind do you?_" She asked, gesturing to the retreating group of Hosts and DA members. Ritsu shook his head and carefully handed the giggling child back to his Grandmother, she smiled kindly at him and bowed formally before following after the group of teenagers, leaving Ritsu, Tetsuya and the brothers to shadow Tamaki and Mei.

-

Takashi....... wasn't sure how to react to this.

Son.

That was all he'd heard in that conversation, the word son from Kasanoda-san and then '_I did say that didn't I_' from Akegata-san.

Maybe he had heard it all wrong but...

Almost against his will his eyes wandered to the child currently balanced on the dark haired male's hip as the red haired young woman, Ginny his mind supplied, plonked various different kinds of hat onto the child's head. Could that really be his son? Was Akegata-san old enough to have a son? Who was the mother? Where was she? Why were they not together and raising their son? All those questions came into his mind and he began to think the worst, against his will he could feel something in him turn sour and the slight creepings of anger towards the younger teenager stir.

How could anyone abandon their child like that to go to a foreign country? At least Takashi's parents had tried, tried and then given him to his grandparents when they couldn't cope.

Mitsukuni had obviously noticed as he wasn't dragging him around anymore but eyeing the two teenagers and the baby curiously.

"Shika-chan, why do you have a baby?" He finally chirped, figuring he needed to get to the bottom of this before Takashi said something he may have regretted.

Green eyes blinked, "He and his grandmother came up to visit. She's been trying to get me to see him since he was born but..." He trailed off, a very guilty expression crossing his features, "Things weren't quite as allowing as we had hoped."

Ginny nudged him, "_It wasn't your fault. Stop beating yourself up, you were only sixteen, she was a fully grown woman. She knew what she was getting into, both of them did._" She stated, having guessed what they were talking about by the look on his face.

"_They shouldn't have died. If I'd just told them not to come –_

"_They would have anyway._" She stated primly before scooping up the child and marching off.

Mitsukuni blinked, "You like older women?" He asked in surprise, Ginny had just said 'fully grown woman' hadn't she? Shika blinked and looked down at him.

"What?"

"Do you like older women?" He repeated watching the way the boy's eyes widened, he snorted and shook his head.

"No Haninozuka-senpai, I don't. Teddy isn't my Son, he's my Godson. Andromeda's daughter married a very dear friend of mine, they named me his guardian if anything happened to them, I left him with his grandmother because it would have been safer for him than if he had stayed with me. Sadly, she didn't agree." He explained soothingly, "I loved Tonks yes, but she was like an Aunt or an extremely quirky older sister." He chuckled, "She'd always be changing her hair into weird colours, she taught me how to play poker and spit peach stones to hit cans." He glanced down at the blonde and smiled, his face wry and just a tint bitter, "You two would have gotten along like a house on fire if you'd ever met." He admitted quietly before shrugging a shoulder and trailing off after the others as they followed the twins towards the Taiko drums.

Mitsukuni glanced to his cousin who was busying himself with the packets of bird-seed he'd bought for Piyo-chan and shook his head; he was beginning to see why Satoshi thought they would be good for one another but on the other hand... Shika-kun was just too... withdrawn and damaged, he may end up hurting Takashi by accident or even his past might pop up and harm him. The dark haired teen seemed to be doing everything he could to outrun that past, even running to a foreign country, Mitsukuni didn't doubt that if Princess Michelle hadn't run into him, he would still have never told his friends where he was. He wasn't sure if he wanted someone like that to be going out with Takashi if they could abandon their friends this easily.

"_Hi, sorry to bother you but you ain't seen my cousin 'ave you?_" A voice broke in, startling the two Hosts into whipping around and staring at the tall, well built teenager behind them.

Takashi studied the other teenager curiously; he looked to be roughly the same age as Tamaki and Kyouya, if not a little older due to his immense bulk. He stood at an impressive 6'4" in height, his hair was a light blond, cut short and spiked up with a small amount of hair-gel, his features were strong and distinctly masculine with good bone structure and narrow flint blue-grey eyes, he had tanned skin and wore casual clothes over a distinctly muscular body, he had training in some form of fighting, primarily to do with one's hands, but he was fast, Takashi could see that. Boxing perhaps? Or perhaps a style of Tekken or Gouken(3)? The other teenager wore a pair of baggy white tracksuit bottoms, white sneakers, a pale blue shirt with thinner dark blue stripes running horizontally across his chest with short sleeves that strained against massive biceps, a thick flat linked silver chain-link necklace around his throat, dark blue sweat-bands around his wrists and a plain red backpack slung over one shoulder where the Morinozuka Heir could see a number of badges pinned into the fabric(4). In all, he'd never actually seen anyone dress in quite such a fashion.

While Takashi saw what could possibly be a threat – Akegata-san had quite plainly admitted that he had never gotten along with his relatives – Mitsukuni saw an opportunity.

"_You're Shika's cousin?_" He burbled excitedly.

The blonde nodded a little hesitantly before saying, "Conbanwah, oreh wah Dursley Dudley dessooo(5)." His accent was terrible, he stumbled a little over the unfamiliar words but Mitsukuni couldn't help but beam excitedly, he knew how awkward it was for westerners to get the hang of their language and vice versa but the other teenager had tried.

"_I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka and this is my cousin Takashi Morinozuka. Nice to meet you Dursley-san!_" He chirped happily as the group began to move towards the Taiko drums where they could see Shikamaru and his friends, "_If you're Shika's cousin that must mean you know lots about him right!?_" He demanded curiously.

Dudley shrugged a shoulder, "_Not really. My parents weren' keen on us hanging together when we were brats so..._" He trailed off awkwardly and shrugged his shoulder, "_Most of wot I know I 'eard from his friends while we were hiding._"

"_Hiding from what?_" Takashi asked flatly, only a slight edge entering into his voice.

Dudley gave them an uncomfortable look, "_Probably shouldn't say if he ain't already._"

Mitsukuni's face fell as the taller blonde made his way to his cousin, not touching him like the others making Takashi's eyebrow move into his hairline.

It said a lot when your own relatives couldn't touch you.

-

At some point during the night, Ginny managed to get her hands on a bottle of sake that she was sharing around their small group, the Hosts hadn't noticed yet and the group were getting a little buzzed. The taste was awful but Shika shook his head and necked a mouthful of it anyway, getting good and trashed sounded like a great idea right now but he would save the true drunken revelry for when they were back at the apartment.

They were having a right good time of it, Ginny was clutching tightly at her giant panda, a painted balloon hanging from her wrist as she sucked on a chocolate dipped frozen banana – drawing a number of looks from the guys who attended Ouron with Dudley. Luna had managed to convince Dudley and Neville to help her win as many goldfish as possible for the new aquarium she was going to be making, she wore a raccoon mask on the side of her head and she was quite happily tottering along, a little tipsy, as she clung to Neville's arm. Neville himself looked fine, he had a strong tolerance for alcohol so he was only feeling a little warm and loose as he allowed Luna to use him as a pack mule and a walking stick. Hermione was a few steps away from trashed, she was hanging off Ron, giggling slurring and laughing, occasionally she would steal a kiss or stumble but as long as she stayed merry instead of walking off down the path of darker memories none of them saw a problem with it. Ron wore a dragon mask over his face with a flower tied to one of the horns by a giggly Luna, he was busy hauling Hermione around and keeping an eye on Ginny. Andromeda hung at the back, giggling in indulgent amusement with Teddy in a baby carrier on her back, fast asleep, his hair still black and his eyes brown as he clung to the little fox plushie that Shika had won at the shooting booth earlier.

Watching the confrontation between Mei and Ritsu had been amusing; the fight between Misuzu had been not so funny and Dudley ended up having to grab Harry before he could jump in and say something.

The dark haired teenager had gone horribly, horribly stiff, his whole body going motionless as his breathing caught in his throat and pins and needles broke out across his skin, his blood ran cold, he could feel Dudley's body heat against him, it burned, his skin crawled – he wanted to shimmy his way out of it and burn what was left behind.

He knew, distantly, he was on the verge of hyperventilation or a panic attack, he was being crushed, why wasn't anyone helping him?

Ron?

Hermione?

Someone please!

All of a sudden, it was gone, Harry's legs crumbled as he hit the floor hard, only just managing to prevent his face from having a close encounter with the paving by catching himself just in time. He could sense Neville rubbing his back, shushing him, trying to calm him as he trembled violently, he could hear Dudley apologising over and over again, sounding rather panicked while Ginny tried again and again to tell him that _it wasn't his fault_.

"_Flighty?_" Nev murmured, rubbing at the Boy Hero's forehead.

Shika shuddered and jerked a few times, "_Don't... don't call me... that._" He managed to get out, rubbing his arms, trying to dispel the phantom sensations of Dudley's body heat burning against his skin.

Neville snorted and turned to the others, "_He'll be fine._" He assured them.

Gingerly getting to his feet, Harry gave Dudley an apologetic look that the blond waved off awkwardly; not feeling at all up for continuing the night's festivities, the dark haired teen opted to escort Haruhi and Mei back to the apartment.

Ron, still hefting Hermione, decided to follow suit with Andromeda deciding to head back to her hotel.

It had been a long night afterall.

-

(1) Onesie: A baby-grow, my sister in law has two kids now, let me tell you, its easier and cheaper to keep the kids in the baby grow. Buying loads of little clothes is pointless, they'll outgrow them within two weeks.

(2) Nappy bag: for you Americans this would be a diaper bag.

(3) Tekken and Gouken: Not sure if these are _actual_ styles of Martial Art, but Tekken means 'Iron Fist' while Gouken, I'm not quite sure what it means exactly but I think it was loosely translated into 'Stone Fist' or 'Strong Fist' I'm not too certain. (Kinda pinched it from Naruto 8DD;;;; Oh you love me really)

(4) Dudley's clothes: For those of you in Europe/UK, you will recognise what he's wearing. Typical Chav/townie gear. (Yes I said townie, that was what they were called BEFORE the whole Chav label came about. Yes I'm old.) Like I said, I don't think Dudley's just a thug, just like I don't think every Chav is a thug either – a number of them may be, yes, but they're the ones bringing down the tone for the whole group. I don't see why a few foul people have to tar the entire society (because they are, they have their own rules and conduct that marks them apart) with the same brush.

(5) Dudley's Japanese: Now, now. Don't laugh. He's trying. What you have there is a phonetic spelling for us westerners. It would normally be spelt as such: _Konbanwa, ore wa Dursley Dudley desu._ My teacher always had us say 'dess' instead of 'dessooo', didn't really understand why as when we went over there, people were using the dessoo saying, I guess it was just an accent thing.

-

**Finito 8DD Hope you like it thus far (Course you do, wouldn't have read to this point if you haven't)**

**Now, for those of you confused, I will try to explain. **

**-**

**No. Natalie McDonald is not an OC character of mine. She is a canon character introduced in the Goblet of Fire during the Sorting Ceremony, she is a first year Gryffindor based on a real-life little girl in America who unfortunately died before the release of the GoF, she wrote to Rowling as it looked as though she may not make it for the release of the book. This I have only found out recently, when I first started writing Black Birds I thought she was just another first-year, so my apologies to anyone who may have been offended by my writing of her... unpleasant time with the Death Eaters. Also, she is not Harry's real blood sister, but he kind of adopted her as an honorary sister during the war as she was suicidal in the beginning and he didn't want her to off herself.**

**-**

**I actually think there is hidden depths to Dudley that Rowling never explored save in the last book when he attempted to make some kind of reparations towards Harry before they were forced into hiding. Ergo, I have tried to reflect this belief in the story – he's more than just a 2D hater a'ight? /BRICKED. X3 Sorry, couldn't help myself.**

**-**

**This is going to be a SLOW going romance between Takashi and Harry. **

**Harry's still incredibly damaged from his stay with the Death Eaters, he IS getting better but some people never recover from torture like that, I'm trying to make his recovery as believable as possible. If he recovers too quickly, it would be incredibly insulting to those who HAVE suffered a similar experience with rape or abuse or physical torture, undoubtedly, many of those people have never been the same. I think those people are incredibly strong so I'm not going to insult them by belittling how much effort they've gone through to rebuild their lives. Please stop asking me to have Harry back to the way he was in the books – you know who you are, please stop sending me e-mails and PMs on the matter. My mind will not change.**

**-**

**My Original Characters, thank you so much for your compliments of them. I've had these fellows floating around for years so they do have a lot of development that I will never be able to fully explore in this story due to the fact my plot tends to revolve more around Harry compared to them. I may do some little extra shorts detailing them if you would like but they would still take a backseat to my main interest of writing this.**

**-**

**Animagus forms.**

**Yes they all have an Animagus form, some even have two – I never stood by the whole belief that you could only have one, your Patronus changes, why can't you have a different animal form? Anyway. Yes they all have a form or two forms, but some of them haven't fully realised those forms, becoming an Animagus is tricky and time consuming, they worked on them whenever they had the chance but progress is slow regardless.**

**-**

**Ginny.**

**For crying out loud, please stop with the Ginny hating! I get more than enough PMs declaring how I should kill her off, no, that is not going to happen because I actually like the way I've developed Ginny in this!**

**She's the younger sister of six brothers, she's going to be cunning, she's going to have a spine, she's not going to give a damn about Harry not being into her, she's going to move on with her life because she's intimately familiar with male stupidity. Believe me, as a younger sister, I know. I don't have as many brothers but my one older brother's friends more than made up the difference I'm sad to say. XP**

**We all know this story will be slash between Takashi and Harry, so why are you getting your underwear into a twist over this? **

**You people act almost as badly as the Sakura!Haters in Naruto, and that's saying something.**

**-**

**Draco and the Malfoys. **(Heh, sounds like a cereal brand, or a kind of music group.)

**Oh boy, here goes, yes they're all alive.**

**Yes they will show up later.**

**No I'm not telling you any more. It would spoil the surprise.**

**... No. Draco isn't evil. He's just in a **_really_** bad position.**

**-**

**Me personally.**

**Why in the heck would you want to know what I look like? /weird look.**

**I'm 20-years-old, 5'3", brown hair –dyed red, kinda short, jaw length and curls in, green eyes, blackish purple square glasses, curvy, not skinny, not fat with a faint scar in my hairline where I got mauled by a Great Dane at the beach when I was younger. (**Still love dogs though.**)**

**I work in local government as the office bitch (i.e. Apprentice Technical Admin) and I consume my body weight in Diet Coke on a regular basis.**

**I know extremely basic Kick boxing and a few aikido moves – mostly escape and evade – and I love manga, fantasy novels, fanfiction, art, violent computer games (Prototype for PS3/X-box is fucking EPIC!! You're a mutant virus guy with **_tentacles!!_** Don't get more badass than that) and I'm a total wuss for horror films but I love them anyway.**

**Oh and I somehow managed to adopt my housemate's cat Toffee /shift look. **

**-**

**Enough about that then. Review pleasums.**

Araceil


	17. Chapter 17

**Black Birds**

-

The rest of the Summer was a toss up between brilliant and nightmare for Shikamaru.

On the one hand, his therapy with Orihime was going extremely well, she had even authorised him to take part in active investigations, despite the fact he was still barred from Field work.

Teddy had taken to copying Harry's green eyes whenever possible which made for some uncomfortable comments whenever he went out in public with the infant.

Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny had all been properly hired by the Nippon Mahou Shou, thus meaning that now they were getting pay cheques too and Harry wasn't having to cheat by conjuring food and using magic to enlarge what he already had.

It also meant that they could now afford a proper house.

Harry wasn't so keen on the idea at first – he _liked_ his dinky little apartment, it was normal, he liked normal – but considering the cramped quarters and now Hermione and Luna were a bit at odds (some commentary towards Mai while she was drunk spawned a cat fight, things were said and now they weren't talking to one another) making living in such an environment awkward to say the least. So Shikamaru relented and he called up Suou-san (the father) to ask for any insight not to mention the fact that he would need his records updated. He then called Histugaya-taicho to inform her and ask if it was even alright for him to shift from the small apartment, she didn't see a problem with it as there had been next to no Death Eater activity as far as she could tell.

And that was how he spent the rest of his summer.

Getting dragged around the city looking for the perfect house for eight people and two pets to live in was not his idea of fun, Yuzuru insisted on sending them to mansions and huge town houses which hadn't helped in the least because Harry hated living in such places. He'd grown up in a freaking cupboard under the stairs! Living in such luxurious surroundings made him intensely uncomfortable – it was one of the reasons why he always ate outside at Ouran, the cafeteria made him uncomfortable.

They eventually found a good house, compared to the other places that Yuzuru had recommended to them it was tiny, however, it was the one place that everyone could agree on.

The house was in Chuuou, a short train journey from Ouran in the Bunkyou area, and set at the edge of the Sumida River, it was a fairly traditional house, the walls were high and they had an absolutely _gorgeous_ garden, it had four bedrooms, two toilets, one bathroom, a study, a living/entertaining room, a kitchen and in the attic a large empty space which Harry had already decided to turn into their base of operations concerning the Death Eaters and various other Terrorist groups – they did have to deal with the Muggle ones as well on occasion.

With a week of Summer left, the eight of them had moved out of the dinky little apartment and into their new house, things were unpacked quickly and easily, wards were set up, bedrooms were decorated, roommates were decided and finally, the housewarming Party was had.

Haruhi, Ranka and the Hosts had been invited along with Satoshi and Yasuchika – under strict orders that any fighting would be met with a prank and banishment from the house – Haku-chan and her younger sister Sakura-chan, Dudley and his school friends – Vernon and Petunia were not invited – Yuzuru was invited as well along with Ritsu and Tetsuya, Misuzu and Mei were invited as well but with the Pensione Misuzu just couldn't take the time off and Mei was freaking out over her fashion show three days from that day so she was busy sewing as though her life depended on it. Somehow word reached the ears of a certain group of young ladies and the St Robelia girls gate crashed a little bit before Nekozawa Umehito and his younger sister Kirimi arrived, Kenichi and Kai gate crashed as well as they forcibly dragged Raven along with them – the green eyed male was rather under the weather lately as it was the anniversary of his family's... well, of their unfortunate end, let's put it that way.

All in all it was an interesting party, Luna finally had enough of Hikaru acting like an idiot and, thoroughly soused on Fire-Whiskey, she tackled him to the floor and proceeded to lay the snog of a life-time onto the poor red head while the rest of the Hosts stared in stunned shock and the DA laughed until Neville threw up, and then they laughed some more.

Dudley was introduced to Sakura and the two really seemed to hit it off, Dudley was blushing and shifting shyly while Sakura giggled and poked at his muscles. Shika merely shook his head; at least he wasn't falling in love with Haruhi – like everyone else seemed to be.

Hikaru left in a huff not long after, his face bright red, shooting terrified looks at Luna who merely smiled cheekily at him and returned to her conversation about Crumple Horned Snorkacks with Morinozuka-senpai who actually seemed to be curiously intrigued by the strange animals that the blonde pixie came up with. The party only went sour when an extremely nosy Benio and co found the attic room, with all of their classified information set out.

It was a large room, they had conjured white boards to cover a lot of wall space, bulletin boards as well depicting Shika's sketches of each Death Eater, a thorough psychological profile put together by Luna and Sarah(1) sitting beneath them along with a file number corresponding with their combat data and history which was put away in the large filing cabinets that lined the back wall. There were various desks and tables around the room with computers and other files and knickknacks on them, including photographs from various murder scenes that they had been asked to take a look at – having more knowledge of magical means and combat spells they often found themselves going to various murder scenes to look for magical residue, an extremely large number of them were non-magical in nature but there were more than a few that were. Thankfully, it was never a familiar Magical Signature.

The screams of the Robelia girls had _everyone_ rushing upstairs to the attic.

Then Shika lost his temper when he saw them trying to take pictures on their phones.

Phones which he smashed.

And just like that, the party was over, the Robelia girls were taken home by Kenichi and Kai – they would be _Obliviated_ before hand, then given replacement memories saying that they had been caught attempting to get into classified information and been thrown out. Raven decided to head back to the office to tell Hitsugaya-taicho about the situation and request a Ward Team to come and give them some better protection – Hermione was good, but she hadn't devoted herself to the craft, so compared to a pro, her Wards were Sub-par.

Kaoru handed them a scrap of paper on his way out, siting that Hikaru forgot to give it to them before Luna jumped him, this being said with a small chuckle. It was an invitation for them to come and meet his mother in a few days time, he decided to give them some notice because he knew how hectic their jobs were and she was extremely interested in meeting them officially.

The Hosts left politely, Satoshi ignored all previous experience and common sense before sweeping Shikamaru into a tight hug, the dark haired teen stiffened but managed to return the gesture slightly before pushing himself away and giving Satoshi a look of exasperation. The youngest Morinozuka laughed and grabbed his older brother, dragging him back towards the car with a gleeful yell. Truthfully, the only reason Harry hadn't thrown the boy half way across the garden was because he was slowly getting used to the 14-year-old touching him, it didn't make him want to shimmy out of his skin and burn what he left behind anymore.

Twenty minutes after everyone left, Dudley was practically freaking out over the phone, begging Harry for help to be a gentleman – he really liked Sakura apparently, and after walking her to her car she said she wanted to see him again, kissed him on the cheek, handed him her number and drove off with Haku laughing in the backseat.

Poor Dudley didn't know how to take this.

He was the one used to making the first move! And how was he going to woo a lady of status?!

A _**Lady!**_

Not one of those slags he used to hang around with at Privet Drive!

An honest to goodness Lady who was brought up properly, who never cussed or swore (Harry wasn't so sure about that, he was pretty sure he'd heard the younger girl swear during Art Club when she dropped her paintbrush by accident) who ate with proper table manners and knew what a salad fork was!

_**Salad fork!!**_

-

Yuzuha Hitachiin hit it off like you _would not __believe_ with one Ginevra Weasley.

When they'd arrived at the Twins' place, none of them had been particularly impressed by the castle like proportions – it rather paled in comparison to Hogwarts anyway – Haruhi and Mei hadn't arrived yet and the servants were only just beginning to set things up for their arrival, the group had been lucky enough to meet Yuzuha at the door before the twins could do something nefarious with them.

Ron and Hermione had opted to stay at the house for some quality time together while Andromeda had decided to take Teddy out and around Tokyo to look at all the sights like the Sumiyoshi Shrine and the Eitai Bridge, Neville was still a little hung over so he too had opted to remain at the house, Silencing Charms over his room so he could sleep in peace while Ron and Hermione had sex on every surface large enough to accommodate two humans going at it.

Upon meeting the small motley group, the red headed woman instantly squealed at the sight of them, stunned for a moment the three were instantly whirling around, going for weapons that they were foolish enough to have brought with them but not pulling them before they realised there was no threat, thankfully. Harry didn't want to explain just _where_ he was hiding Glock or _why_.

Yuzuha and Ginny chattered away quite happily while Luna leered playfully at Hikaru who twitched and shuffled awkwardly, Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes and chortled as he planted a hand on Luna's head.

"Down girl. Bad Titch." He teased, making the blonde girl snap her teeth mischievously at him.

Her nickname, Titch, was decided upon because she had one of the more random animagus forms out of their group, a red bellied piranha, she had two forms but this was the weirdest. A tiny little thing only about as long as Shikamaru's thumb but she had a pretty disturbing grin for such a little lady, and a _**lot**_ of sharp teeth – she liked to bite things even while she was human so it was no surprise. But her other form seemed to balance her out, a little red squirrel with large ear tufts and a fondness for jelly-babies, she was still trying to get the hang of the Piranha form as the Squirrel was the first one she started on. She was just having a little difficulty with the whole gills thing that the fish had going there.

When Haruhi and Mei arrived the three of them along with Haruhi somehow managed to get roped into being models as well, which was really freaking embarrassing when the other Hosts showed up.

Ginny was hamming it up for Yuzuha as she clung to Luna and the two of them struck provocative poses in a tangle of limbs with Haruhi who looked intensely uncomfortable and overheated; it gave the perfect image of two bubbly friends forcing their more prudish bestfriend into something silly.

Shika meanwhile stood to the side speaking quietly with Yuzuha's husband whom had yet to introduce himself, making the green eyed teenager smirk and rib him lightly to the other man's amusement – no one else had picked up on his little ruse.

It was when Ginny finally had enough of him standing to the side that she grabbed his arm and wrenched him into the photo where she and Luna started to tickle him. The dark haired male squirmed and wriggled between them, laughing as he tried to fight them off before having enough and tickling them back until the group were all giggling and leaning against one another, Shika completely unaware of Yuzuha hissing at Mei to keep taking pictures.

Haruhi giggled before she promptly found herself getting mobbed by the Hosts from behind, a squeak drew the attention of the other three and Shika promptly felt his dignity sink into the floor.

His friends seeing him lose his temper and do something stupid was one thing, the Hosts seeing him freak out and smash the Robelia girls' phones for taking pictures of his attic was another thing. He felt like an idiot.

He'd replaced the phones and apologised as well.

Then Haruhi ran off and the Hosts gave chase, Yuzuha giggled, "What a lively lot." She exclaimed happily, before realising they were still there, "Oh, would you like to continue with the shoot?" She asked, eyes twinkling mischievously.

Harry paled, "Uh, thank you for the thought Yuzuha-san, but no thank you. Um..." He trailed off awkwardly only to yelp in alarm when Luna bounced forward and pulled his shirt up.

"He's as scarred as a pair of old leather gloves ma'am!" She chirped with a laugh as Shika's face flamed and he hastily raced away to get changed while the girls giggled.

When he got back, Luna and Ginny were already back into their usual clothing and they were sitting with Morinozuka, Haninozuka and Kyouya drinking tea and eating some of Misuzu's cookies, taking a seat the green eyed teenager poured himself a drink and twitched when he became aware of a little fuzzy thing hopping onto his lap with a chirp.

It was Morinozuka-senpai's chick, what did he call it? Piyo-chan?

A dark eyebrow rose as he scratched the tiny bird on the head, wondering if Hedwig had ever been so small and cute – she was beautiful now of course, but he did wonder, the book of birds he'd taken out of the library so he could care for her properly said that owls tended to look rather ugly when they were chicks.

The other Hosts had just arrived when his phone went off, carefully putting his mug down the dark haired teenager picked it up, a faint crease appearing on his forehead when he caught that it was Rahkesh's number.

Scooping Piyo-chan up, he absently dropped the chick into Morinozuka-senpai's messy hair before moving off onto the balcony to answer the call.

"Rahkesh what's the matter?" He asked into the receiver, he could hear a group of panicked voices in the background and a number of police sirens.

"_This is huge Shika. Really big. We've found a body. Little girl, looks like a magically induced murder to me._" The frazzled voice on the other end of the line blathered.

"A little girl? How old?" He hissed, face draining of colour as he turned around, staring through the windows to where Hikaru and Kaoru were talking, the other Hosts were drinking tea and Haruhi was being helped with her clothes by Luna, Ginny and Mei.

"_Can't be any older than five. Shika, you're not going to like what they've done to her face, look, you need to get down here. This is your jurisdiction now, we can't hand it over to one of your friends because technically you were promoted to Captain when they arrived, they're your subordinates right now and you're the one who has to see this. We've talked to Orihime-san, she's not happy but considering the circumstances she's had to revoke the restriction on your field access for matters of Public Safety. Look, just get your ass over here. I'm going to text you the co-ordinates of the nearest Apparation point; just follow the sound of the sirens. I'll be waiting just past the police barrier to bring you in. Don't bother with your team, not yet._"

"Right, right. I'll be there in five minutes Rek. Don't move the body."

"_We won't Akegata. Just hurry it up. The press are going nutso._" And with that he hung up.

Harry growled under his breath as he flipped his phone shut and stalked back into the room, Ginny and Luna immediately standing to attention when they caught his mood, "_What's going on?_" The red head asked, eyes narrowing at the dark aura that was coiling around her bestfriend.

"_They've found a body. Cause unknown but it sounds like an MO from an old '_friend'_. I'm heading down there now. I want you and Luna to find Romie and get her and Teddy out of the Country, I'm going to ask a friend of mine to put them up in his Caribbean retreat, they should be safe there and if this is who I think it is, I'm not taking _**any**_ chances. That done, go to the house and stay there till I call you._" His phone beeped just at the end of his string of orders, the address of the murder scene flashed up and he nodded before grabbing his belongings.

"I'm sorry about this Yuzuha-san but something's come up at work, we need to leave. Now." The dark haired teenager explained as the girls likewise began to gather their belongings with an almost military precision.

The red head seemed a little shaken, oh no, was she multilingual too? Of course she was, everyone in the damn house was, Harry could have hit himself.

"O-of course, do you need a lift anywhere?" She asked, Shika shook his head.

"It would be faster if I went on foot ma'am. See you all later." He announced to the Hosts, not giving them a chance to speak before he was running through the house, the girls on his heels as they bolted out into the main foyer and down the drive way. Once out of sight of the security cameras, all three of them Apparated away with a loud CRACK!

-

Rahkesh hadn't been kidding when he said Shikamaru would not like this case.

Her name was Harumi, Harumi Matsumoto, she was four-years-old, short messy black hair that stuck up at odd angles like his used to, she had grey-green eyes and dimples in her cheeks, she was missing a tooth and her face was slightly confused and uncomprehending of her death. Her eyes left wide open, her body completely unmarked save for the one bloody slice through her face.

A lightning bolt.

He could feel his magic simmering under the surface of his skin as anger bubbled up inside of him, that _**bitch**_, that complete and utter foul loathsome bitch.

Shikamaru swallowed tightly, "This now falls _**fully**_ under my jurisdiction." He announced tightly, his voice cold as the rest of the ATOC looked at him in shock and slowly dawning horror. "I want a BOLO out on Parkinson Pansy, WFJ, EDP. And an APB – no one is to engage this woman and they are to remain clear. We need to know who followed her into the country and when, or more bodies will be turning up and I have my doubts that some of them won't still be walking around.(2)"

Zaraki looked confused, "What do you mean? If they're dead then they can't walk around, can they?"

"Unfortunately, yes, they can. Inferi, it's a foul Necromancy Curse that Voldemort was rather fond of, he didn't even need fresh bodies and the Enchantments lasted for decades. Bellatrix has quite the talent for it, and unfortunately, so does Parkinson and Malfoy Narcissa." Shikamaru explained, signalling to the coroner and his assistant to come and collect the body for processing, he looked at Zaraki flatly, "Where do you think the horror movies got the idea of the dead rising?" He asked.

He ignored Morinozuka and Haninozuka joining the crowd, he had noticed them but he was too busy with work to pay them any attention right now, there was a dead little girl getting lifted into a body bag. He took a sharp breath, glancing towards Kenichi when the other Parselmouth placed a hand on his shoulder, his mismatched eyes churning with dark emotion; all Parselmouths – unlike their serpent counterparts – were fiercely protective over children. To see a dead child pained them on an emotional level that was akin to that of a parent, but no where near as intense or as personal, both of them had learned how to deal with that pain though. Kenichi through his work, Shika through the war.

He took a deep breath and began to bark out orders, "Zaraki, I want those civilians out of here! Rahkesh, get the press out of my sight, if they want commentary, tell them to wait. Sarah, I want you over here with Akira to help me I.D. the scene. Kenichi, start speaking to the public and locals, start with the kids who found her. Isao – " here he paused, because the other man was obviously not listening, "Get the fuck out of my crime-scene if you're going to be acting like a child." He bit out, narrowing his eyes on the man who whipped around, "Or I will have you written up for insubordination and obstruction of Justice. Scat. Now." He snarled, watching as the older man sneered and bristled before stalking off. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes before turning to Sarah and Akira to look over the scene, "Put an Obscuri over the scene would you Akira?" He asked softly, the Vampyre nodding as his eyes took a slight golden glow.

Vampyre magic was vastly different to most human spells, thus meaning, no one noticed when they were watching an illusion of the group pulling on rubber gloves and beginning to comb the alleyway, speaking in hushed tones and using small digital cameras to take pictures of the scene. In reality, they whipped out their wands and began to comb the place for evidence, magical signatures and emotional imprints left behind in the air, the ground and the brickwork.

There were a lot, and the place was thick with fear, malice, lust and pain.

Harry's eyes narrowed when he found a particular signature he recognised, like he could forget it, it was practically _burned_ into his mind. He knew this bastard, and he knew now what the autopsy report would tell him before it was even handed to him, Death Eaters had very specific behavioural patterns and he doubted very much if this bastard had changed in the past year.

Tobias Avery.

Tobias Avery was in Japan.

And he was killing kids in Harry's city.

-

(1) Sarah – Remember she was one of his co-workers, the woman who was allergic to dark magic, Rahkesh's twin sister, brown hair, blue eyes, leggy and smart.

(2) a BOLO, WFJ, EDP. And an APB – All police/Law Enforcement jargon, BOLO means 'Be On Look Out', WFJ 'White-female-juvenile', EDP 'Emotionally Disturbed Person', APB 'All Points Bulletin' meaning basically, her picture is going to be sent to every Magical and non-magical train-station, law enforcer, airport, portkey zone, apparition zone, Auror station, basically anywhere someone will see it.

-

**Chapter seventeen finito! 8DD wow, two chapters done in the one day, I am **_**good**_**. When I knuckle down that is /shifty look. I HAD SPARE TIME AT WORK!! (not really. I just shifted some stuff to do tomorrow to work on it. My boss is gunna kill me XDD;;)**

Yes, I wrote 16 and 17 in the same day, I just waited to update because I wanted to get some time to write another chapter- incidentally I'm working on chapter 20 at the moment. It is being rather troublesome as well. Plus, I'm torturing Stalker with knowledge that I have some really BIG and unpleasant plottwists coming up and I just won't tell her. Nor will I tell you ;D Muahaha. I have the power!


	18. Chapter 18

**Black Birds**

-

Harumi's mother was absolutely _devastated_.

When she'd heard of the murder she'd completely lost it, screaming and sobbing, she'd flown at her husband and began to beat her tiny fists against his chest, screaming at him that he should have watched her better, that he should have stayed home, then she collapsed against him and said how she should have stayed home instead of pursuing a career, that she should have taken care of Harumi better and a million other things. She hadn't stopped crying since while her husband just held her, dry eyed, Shika got the feeling that his grief was beyond tears if the vacant way he responded to anything was any sign.

He called Nekozawa to check that it was alright if Andromeda and Teddy stayed at his Caribbean retreat until things cooled down and he readily agreed, Kirimi had taken a real shine to the Metamorphagus and vice versa.

The rest of the DA came in with copies of all the information they had on the Death Eaters – it was a lot more thorough and specialised than the information the ATOC had on them and they set up another room just off the side of the Bull-Pen. The last three days and first two days of school were all devoted to working, Hitsugaya-taicho had called up Ouran explaining Shikamaru's absence and while Yuzuru-san wasn't comfortable with the idea of someone the same age as his precious son hunting down criminals and examining the dead and violated bodies of children, he agreed to allow him the time off to work on the case.

It was when Kaede found him curled up on one of the chairs in an awkward position, sleeping and twitching slightly as his nightmare grew more violent that she decided that he was to go home, shower, sleep properly and then go to school like a normal teenager for a while. He hadn't been happy and argued against it, how could he go to school when Avery was on the loose with Parkinson and who knew who-else from the Dark Days? He would be in an even worse state than _ever_.

The woman simply shoved a Portkey at him and stated that Yuzuru was well aware of her decision and he would be picking him up for school the next morning. Then she said pancakes and Harry was gone, whisked back to his house where he landed in a heap and Hedwig hooted at him in amusement from her place perched in the small red oak tree.

Shooting his owl a look of betrayal, Harry trudged into the house and up to his room, pausing briefly to greet Crookshanks when the feline wrapped around his leg and purred rather like a washing machine. Changing into a pair of pyjamas he looked in the medicine cabinet and found a phial of Dreamless Sleep, taking about half the phial, he corked it and set it down – he wanted to be able to wake up if he heard something, if he took the whole thing he would be out for eight hours regardless of what happened around him – before curling up under his bedcovers in the room he shared with Neville. Absently aware of Crookshanks jumping onto the foot of his bed and curling up, before he drifted off to sleep.

He was distantly aware of the others returning home, of Neville crawling into the same bed as him, smelling faintly of tears and exhaustion – they'd all been getting better about sleeping in their own beds but times like this, after blasts from the past like Avery and Parkinson, it was nice to just crawl in with a friend and know you were safe – as he pulled the smaller teenager against him, Crookshanks slinking out of the room to find his mistress.

The next morning he was woken up by his mobile going off, Neville groaned and burrowed his face into the back of his neck as Harry reached over and groped blindly for his phone, finding it, he dragged it to his ear, "_Bet'er be good._" He grumbled sleepily down the line.

Yuzuru chuckled, "Good morning Shika-kun. Did you forget that you were coming into school today?" He asked pointedly, feeling a faint pang of pity for the boy, he sounded exhausted, and he could tell he'd just woken the poor child up.

The green eyed teenager groaned, "Dun wanna." He whined sleepily, "Got work, can't com'in." He explained.

Yuzuru refrained from sighing, why did he have to choose the most inopportune moment to act his age? "Hitsugaya-san gave me a call Shikamaru, you have half an hour before myself and my driver will be there to pick you up." He told the teenager firmly, listening to the sound of him breathe for a moment before there was an irritated huff.

"Fine, fine. I'll be there." He grumbled unhappily before hanging up, much to the Superintendant's amusement, almost as funny as teasing his son, their reactions were so different but just as cute.

Back in the house, Harry put his phone back on his bedside table and collapsed in a rebellious heap for a moment, he didn't want to get up, he was warm and comfy and he might even be able to go back to sleep. But no luck, the freaking superintendant of his school was coming to pick him up and make sure he made it into the classroom, no luck.

Slithering out of Neville's grasp, the dark haired teenager had a quick wash with a cloth, dressed himself in his uniform, making sure to have a few weapons with him, an emergency portkey and a few files so he could work on the case during his lessons – he was fourth in his year-group, he could afford to slack a little bit when working on something more important. He had just enough time for a quick bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit before Yuzuru arrived, finishing up his bowl of frosties(1) the dark haired teenager grabbed a piece of fruit and left the house as the post black limo pulled up outside the gate.

Ugh, all the neighbours were watching as well, he was going to throttle that old man, now they would be trying to cosy up as much as possible, try to marry their daughters off to him, trying to stick their noses into his life.

Ignoring the attention with ease, the dark haired teenager opened the limo door before the driver could get out and do so for him and climbed in, Yuzuru was sat there, smiling at him, and Tamaki was blinking at him in surprise.

The journey to the campus was surprisingly awkward and uncomfortably silent.

Once at Ouran, they went through lessons as usual, Shika worked on his case during maths and Latin as he was already achieving top marks for them. Come leaving time, he promptly found himself sandwiched between Tamaki and Morinozuka-senpai as they '_escorted_' him to a meeting room in the East Block's second floor.

"What is going on?" He snapped, scowling, "Where are you taking me?"

Tamaki grinned, "Didn't you know?" At the look on Shika's face, he surmised that the green eyed teenager didn't, "You're on the Red Team for the Sports Competition!" He exclaimed gleefully, "I know you'll do great Shika!"

The green eyed teenager looked up at Morinozuka-senpai to see if he was buying into this crap but just received a steady look from the older teenager, damnit, he forgot, for all of the senior's tactile personality he was still a member of the Host Club's particular brand of insanity, not to mention Satoshi's older brother. It said a lot. The dark haired teenager sighed and followed the hyperactive blonde Frenchman into the room with a sour expression, he was tired, he wanted to work, he was hungry and he wasn't all that keen on a Sports competition anyway. What was the point?

Taking a seat, he slouched down onto the table and rested his chin on his folded arms, glancing to the side as Morinozuka took the seat beside him, oh well, at least it wasn't that freak Kuze-san.

Then he had to sit through ten minutes of Tamaki preaching about teamwork and Spirits only knew what else – he'd stopped listening when the blonde began to repeat himself – instead he turned his attention to where Umehito-kun was lurking behind Ritsu, stealing strands of hair and tying them together with a small red ribbon. He shook his head and chuckled at the primitive good-luck charm, Acromantula silk dyed red via Ragwort and Streeler slime tied around seven strands of naturally red hair from a human, primitive and quaint, but affective none-the-less. He would have to have a word with the blonde about using magic in a physical contest, it wasn't very sporting and he had the feeling that Yuzuru and Reiko-chan would notice, which would open up a whole new kettle of chips. One he didn't want to touch with a forty foot barge pole.

His thoughts drifted, perhaps he should look into Ancient Magic again... he had taken a peek at the enchantments but originally turned his nose up because the incantations were so _long_, it would be practically suicide to use them in a fight without a 'Pactio Partner' – which opened up a new problem because Harry wasn't about to kiss anyone and then force them into being a shield for him as he sits on the backlines chanting under his breath(2).

He looked up as he saw all the athletes cheering and running for the door, he sighed and got to his feet, training, gods he thought he had escaped this, still... 50 laps around the field didn't sound too bad, sure he would feel like he wanted to sleep for a decade afterwards but at least when he got home he could eat something and go to bed.

He trailed absently behind the other sports enthusiasts as they made their way down to the changing rooms where they could pick up their new uniforms, glancing to the side he could see Haninozuka snarling behind his terrified runners and arched an eyebrow. Well. That was one way to motivate them to run he supposed.

Getting changed was... awkward.

Shikamaru had forgotten that he wasn't with people who had seen the scarring of his back, living with the others who frequently wandered around in states of undress – himself included – had pretty much spoiled him. He'd forgotten that many people wouldn't be able to look at him exposed without batting an eyelid, so when he'd changed, more than a few of the boys had stopped and stared in horror at the marks that patterned his back. Thankfully nothing was said when they noticed how he was suddenly very tense and moving just that much faster than they were to cover up, it would be common knowledge around the school by the end of the week that his back had as many scars as the Hitachiin twins had issues.

It was for the best he decided, he may not have liked the scars but they were as much a part of him now as Mai's prosthetic arm was hers. At least now he wouldn't have to go through all the trouble trying to hide them anymore.

Moving out onto the track the group stretched as a warm up, the White Team a few feet away from them with Haninozuka-senpai at the front demonstrating the stretches and barking orders, Morinozuka merely demonstrated them silently and occasionally moved through the group to physically correct a few who were mistaken. Shika, whose flexibility was pretty good, received a long studying look before the dark haired male moved on to correct someone else, at least he hadn't tried to physically touch him, unlike his brother whom Shika was getting used to, Morinozuka-senpai would have triggered an episode and then the 17-year-old would have had to have hit him.

Running was therapeutic though.

He jogged just at the front of the group at an easy pace, not the all out sprinting he was used to doing over long periods of time, he should be able to handle all 50-laps if he kept his pace and didn't sprint like he kind of wanted to. He merely shook his head when he heard the occasional outcry from the teenagers 'Red Team Fight' – 'White Team Fight' – 'Red Team For the Win' – 'White Team for the Win' ect ect ect.

His mind turned to Parkinson and Avery in the mean time, Parkinson had been the one to kill little Harumi, Avery had held her under the _Imperio_, luring her into the alleyway where they were waiting. They were still running the DNA left behind but when they'd brought the body back to the ATOC Morgue, their coroner, Ishikawa Yoshino aged 37 mother of two, had discovered a number of things that hadn't been apparent at the scene. Little Harumi was missing her panties and she was bleeding between the legs.

She'd been raped as well.

Which made no sense to Harry. Avery liked trophies but he preferred his women to have breasts and an ass, he wasn't into small children and Parkinson was one of those who believed Homosexuality was a fucking disease and anyone who had it needed to be AKed in the face at first sight, an opinion that added to her disgust of paedophilia. Which left the question:

There were three people in that Alley, not including Harumi.

Who was the one who raped her?

-

The last few days had been interesting to say the least.

Takashi arched an eyebrow as he followed his... well he guessed he could now officially call him a 'crush' considering his current feelings, to a seat in the meeting room. The dark haired male didn't seem pleased with the whole Sports Festival idea, he wasn't happy to actually be here at school to be honest.

Mitsukuni had insisted on walking home because he wanted to stop by a cake shop on the way, they hadn't expected to see a large group of people and cars clustered around an Alley-way, the sound of their classmate issuing orders made them stop and approach. Their eyes drawn to the smaller male as he surveyed the scene with a practiced eye as he issued orders to his co-workers, pausing only briefly to watch as a tiny body bag – Takashi's gut twisted when he realised that the only thing that small was a child – only turning away when one of his co-worker's touched his shoulder.

Watching him give out orders was impressive, Takashi's eyebrow arched when he sent the less than interested one back home with a sharp order, it was at that point when they were ushered off with the rest of the public, he glanced over his shoulder to see the dark haired teenager pull his hair back and pull on a pair of rubber gloves with a dull snap.

After that, no one saw him until the third day of school when he was brought in by Suou-san looking grumpy and tired, the crease between his eyes was a little more pronounced, the dark quality of his eyes and the way the whites of his eye were just a little bloodshot suggested that he hadn't been sleeping again and stress was beginning to get to him. It was only Kyouya handing him a lunch box before the teenager could escape into the gardens that prevented him from going hungry the whole day because Takashi didn't doubt that the green eyed teenager wouldn't eat just so he could spend more time looking over that folder.

Now they were sat down listening to Tamaki making a bold and impassioned speech to motivate their athletes, he got to his feet as he noticed the others doing so, Shikamaru at his side with a rather mutinous expression on his face – which seemed more cute than particularly threatening.

"Morinozuka! What's the training program!?" One of them shouted at him, his face flushed with excitement.

"50 laps around the field." He answered flatly, it should be easy enough for those who had sports based on endurance, like the triathlon/biathlon, soccer or running, but it would be tough for those who didn't. Here's to hoping that they could manage. He glanced sideways to the green eyed teenager as they made their way down to the changing rooms...

Though... to be completely honest, he wouldn't mind if Akegata-san wasn't quite able to manage it at least then he could play Doctor. _No! Bad Takashi! Bad!_

Thankfully, no once noticed the ever so faint pink tint to his cheeks as they accepted their uniforms and began to change, they did, however, notice the marks that mutilated the back of Akegata-san's spine and shoulders.

Takashi hadn't had a chance to fully study them before, one long one following the line of his spine, the thick rope ones that went down his left shoulder, the criss crossing lashmarks across his shoulder blades, the crescent shaped dimple like marks in the back of his neck – marks that looked disturbingly like teeth, human teeth – and four thin gouges on each hip, angling downwards under the line of his boxers. They looked like finger nail scratches.

The elder Morinozuka turned away abruptly; suddenly feeling sick to his stomach as he mechanically pulled his clothing on, finger nail marks on his hips, teeth marks on the back of his neck... He knew the younger teenager had been tortured – Hermione-san had told them once while the dark haired male was busy elsewhere, it was a warning to be careful of touching him and of doing certain things that may cause him to flashback – but the idea that he had been... been _raped_ had never once crossed his mind.

Though a lot of things that hadn't made sense before hand, made sense now.

Takashi followed his team out into the Sports field, coaching them through the usual stretches, occasionally having to move through them to correct someone, he wasn't much of a teacher, he didn't have the right words to make someone motivated to get it right or correct them without possibly insulting them or hurting their pride, so he stayed quiet. He gave Shikamaru a long look, the dark haired teenager was doing well, the bulky gym-clothing wasn't inhibiting him at all as he shifted his body into a form somewhat akin to that of a pretzel, he had to turn away before he did something embarrassing. He hadn't thought the other teen was quite.... _that_ flexible. All of a sudden he could hear his grandfather's voice in his head trying to give him the Talk about '_Bees who like other Bees'_, what was possibly one of the singularly most embarrassing and horrifying moments of his life. He had a lot to say on the matter of flexibility and now Takashi was going to have to strangle that memory, stomp on it and hope it never saw the light of day or his mind ever, ever, _**ever**_ again.

And now they were running.

"How youthful!" Mitsukuni exclaimed, almost startling his cousin into squeaking, he did it on purpose – Takashi could tell, he was a lot more evil than his cute appearance suggested. "I don't know the whole story but..." He continued as if he hadn't just announced his presence after his cousin was entertaining naughty thoughts and then attempting to throttle them out of embarrassment, "Kyou-chan acts stubborn while Tama-chan is the one who seems expressive but doesn't actually say his true feelings." He sighed without glancing to his cousin, he shook his head slightly, "Sometimes it's good to have an upfront confrontation." He announced.

Takashi could see that, but he got the feeling that Mitsukuni wasn't speaking about _just_ Tamaki and Kyouya right now. "Yeah." He agreed, just to avoid the odd look he would get if he stayed silent on the matter.

"Oh well, the White Team will win anyway." The blonde announced, his lips twitching slightly.

"No. The Red Team will." Takashi argued, not catching the smirk that was now curling onto his cousin's lips.

"Wanna bet on it? I want cakes for three months." He declared.

A pause, "Chick feed for three months."

"And you gotta ask Shika out on a date."

Takashi coughed and nearly fell.

What? _**What!?**_

"... You have to go steady with Reiko-san." He finally said, for lack of anything he _could_ say. Now the Red Team absolutely _had_ to win, there was no way he could ask Akegata-san out on a date!! He shot his cousin a glower when he caught the smaller teenager giggling into his sleeve over his reaction.

While Mitsukuni may not have been all that approving of Takashi and Shika being together, he could see how his cousin was interested in the younger teenager and how that interest was not returned, maybe if his cousin was rejected he would get over it and find himself someone else. After all, there was no way the White Team were going to lose with Kyouya calculating and taking advantage of every weakness that Team Red had.

Takashi's crush was as good as gone.

-

Blink.

Blink, blink.

Staaaaaaaare.

"A... Bread... _Eating _contest?" he asked, looking up at Morinozuka-senpai, "You're kidding me right? You're actually..." The other teenager just looked at him steadily; Shikamaru sighed and rubbed at his forehead, "Gods this school is weird."

'_And that's saying something after you've been to Hogwarts_.' He thought looking down at the spectacle of a _tea-party_ in the middle of the sports field, he didn't know what a proper Bread Eating contest was supposed to be – they didn't have them in England and they didn't even have Physical Education at Hogwarts – but he had a strong suspicion that this wasn't the way it was supposed to be done.

He looked up absently when he heard a bit of a ruckus with Tamaki, listening with half an ear and snorting in disgust, "Does Tamaki ever think things through?" He asked the Senior, he received another flat look that just made him pull a face and fall quiet, why bother talking when no one was going to reply? He watched in vague amusement as the girls all gagged and bowed out of the competition, listening with half an ear as the other sports-enthusiasts had a go at Tamaki for making them fail to get any points for the first round. Really, they were taking this whole thing entirely too seriously.

He chuckled when the boys down in the race were so distracted by the goings on up in the stands that they had a late start and inevitably lost their race, giving the White Team even more points.

Takashi glanced at him from where they were leaning against the railings before he decided to move off and protect Tamaki from the wrath of the rest of the team. He told himself it was because Tamaki needed help, but really, he knew he would have said something incredibly embarrassing – an extremely not well known fact, as in only Satoshi and Airi-baachan knew, was that Takashi was a bit of a romantic, ok, not a bit, quite a lot of a romantic and he had a load of fiction books on the subject along with Shakespearian plays.

When it came time for the throwing contest, Mei-chan shouted out and Shikamaru couldn't help it anymore, he burst out laughing and collapsed back into the seat beside Hikaru, pressing his hands over his mouth as he laughed to try and quiet the sound.

"What's so funny?" Hikaru hissed angrily, "We're loosing!"

"It's just a game, lighten up already. And it _**is**_ quite funny." The green eyed teen pointed out as he wiped his watering eyes with the edge of his jacket cuff, still chortling over the whole thing.

Hikaru made a sound of disgust and moved off away from the dark haired teenager who snorted yet again at the other teenager's childish behaviour, "Oh man, was I ever that childish?" He asked himself out loud with a small indulgent smile on his face before he snorted and rolled his stiff left shoulder, "Probably not." He decided with a chuckle. Living in a cupboard meant you didn't really have a chance to be childish, there were chores that needed doing, Dudleys and Petunias to be pleasing and Vernons to be avoiding and teachers to be fooling.

It was then that Kuze-san showed up and Shikamaru slouched down in his seat, it wasn't that the older boy was nasty or cruel, Harry just didn't like him, he was _**weird**_, as in _beyond_ Luna weird. He peered past Morinozuka-san at the spectacle of Tamaki getting into Kuze's face with another one of his confidence and youthfulness speeches, or whatever.

A few moments later Shika was frowning and shaking his head, "Bad idea to put Mitake in this race Morinozuka-san. He'll loose on purpose if he's up against Nanakura, their parents are brokering a business deal." He stated simply, ignoring the surprised looks from those around him, what? He was good at disseminating truth from a bunch of gossip!

Sure enough, Mitake was third and Shika lost interest until he was due to take part in one of the races with Umehito, he had tried to talk the other boy out of competing but unfortunately he was determined to take part.

Shikamaru sighed and kept an eye on the other boy before taking a ready position.

"On your mark... Ready, GO!!" The announcer yelled as the floor-lights flared on.

"_**KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!**_" Shikamaru paused mid-step, looking over his shoulder to where Umehito was skittering backwards like some demented crab away from the direct gaze of the spot lights.

Race forgotten, Shika stripped off his jacket and flung it over his friend, wrapping it over the older boy and leading him back to the Red Team, ignoring the demands of the rest of the Team.

"Why did you stop!!? We could have won that race!! You're one of the fastest people in Ouran!!" One of the boys from the Running Team exclaimed in disbelief as Harry helped the Russian boy to sit down before rounding on them.

"What part of '_strong light will kill him_' did none of you understand?" He hissed, gesturing to Nekozawa who was cowering under Shika's jacket, "Excuse me for giving a damn about my friend's health, now, sit down and shut up. I need to give his family a call to come and pick him up." He sneered before pointedly turning away and digging into the pocket of his jacket to withdraw the phone, he didn't speak to anyone else as he dialled in the number of the Nekozawa's home phone.

He ignored the rest of the contests as he kept the other boy company before leading him towards his family retainers who were stood at the edge of the stands looking for them, "Kuretake-san, Kadomatsu-san, I leave Umehito-kun in your capable hands." He said to the two quirky caretakers of the Nekozawa family as he gently steered his friend towards the bald male with the scar down his face.

Kuretake bowed and smiled at him, tugging at one of her pigtails as Kadomatsu whipped out Umehito's traditional full length black cloak and flung it over the young master, stripping him of Shika's jacket as well before returning it to the second year.

"Thank you for calling us. Not many realise that the young master's allergy to strong light sources is a serious medical problem as opposed to personal preference. Thank you for your quick thinking and decisive action. The Nekozawa family is in your debt again it seems." She teased.

He smirked, "Just stop asking me to babysit Kirimi and we'll call it even."

Kuretake laughed, "No can do." She chirped, laughing again when Shika snapped his fingers in faux disappointment as they lead their sickly young master away.

Sighing lightly he headed back into the 'coliseum'; it was the Cheerleading contest next.

-

**(1) Frosties**: frosted sugar on shreddies for those of you who don't know. (it's a breakfast cereal)

**(2) Mahou Sensei Negima!** I don't own it, I just think it's pretty damn awesome and makes a heck of a lot more sense magically than Harry Potter does. It actually goes into different kinds of magic and how they work, opposed to 'wave you wand, say some words, it will happen'. Plus, Negi is a way better protagonist than Harry, no where near as angsty AND he's got a better reason to be angsty! Srsly, go and read it, ignore all the nudity and panty-flashes though, its Ken Akamatsu what do you expect – he did Love Hina – this is WAY better, just ignore that stuff if you don't like it, the story is WORTH it.

-

**Finito. 8DD**


	19. Chapter 19

**Black Birds**

-

"_I am the muse God of Fire Poetry._"

Shika's attention perked, along with the rest of him to Takashi's amusement as he watched the dark haired teenager stiffen, twitch slightly, turn and face Hitachiin Hikaru, an odd expression on his face.

"_I was given the glorious strength of imagination._" The red head continued, dressed in a sweeping loose robe of red and orange – funnily enough it didn't clash with his hair as Ron's tended to do with anything orange, like his thrice cursed Chudley Cannons hat (How that thing survived the war Harry did not dare to contemplate.) "_Actors and nobles_," And here he bowed, carefully so as not to allow his elaborate hat to fall off, "_We are in the battlefield from this little scene. Now, under the Agincourt's sky there are countless shaking helmets without any strength left._" And now he took several steps backwards before straightening.

"Henry fifth." The dark haired male noted with an odd smile on his face, "Fitting. If somewhat grandiose."

Takashi's eyebrow moved into his hairline, he couldn't see it.

"Of course you can't see it." He tried not to jolt when those green eyes flicked to him, somehow managing to read his expression, "You've grown up in this kind of world, one where nothing really seems to be that far above you that it can't be touched. To people like myself and Haruhi, the comparison between the Battle of Agincourt and a silly school sports competition is slightly ridiculous. Though from a metaphorical sense of view it could fit." He tilted his head slightly and returned to watching the Cheerleading event unfold, his voice quiet and slightly bitter, "_If only rousing others out of depression was as simple as giving a speech_." He muttered in English, apparently forgetting that Takashi was multilingual.

'_What did he mean by that?_' the 18-year-old thought, absently listening to Tamaki as he coolly dressed down one of the athletes.

"_However, Gentlemen!!_" The blonde shouted, ensuring that his voice carried through to all of the Red Team, "_If you fight today's battle until the end, you can safely return to your homes! I think that in times when today's battle is spoken of, you will be able to strengthen your chest and feel proud of yourself._

"_People are forgetful,_" He continued, his tone softening, "_Even if others forget all about today, the recollection of this day's honour and happiness will still stay fresh in our memories._" His voice rose again, "_If you fear defeat and leave this place! Then you will curse yourself afterwards! That is why, even if we are only a few people, we will be the group who is granted happiness! On THIS day, in THIS battle, those who shed blood, each of them will become brothers!!_"

Harry glanced around in vague interest as the Red Team began to chatter and murmur amongst one another, voices steadily becoming more optimistic and enthusiastic. He sighed and shook his head in mirth, typical, maybe Suou should look into becoming a motivational speaker.

"_Then, Gentlemen!! Let's go!! God is blessing all of our brothers!!_"

The green eyed male chuckled darkly, if God truly existed, then he was a sadistic son of a bitch and Harry would like nothing better than to introduce him to Ginny during THAT time of the month.

-

Shikamaru stretched carefully, he was running the obstacle course along with Haninozuka-senpai and Morinozuka-senpai, he was there as insurance so to speak, Kuze-san wasn't too sure that Morinozuka-senpai's loyalty to his cousin wouldn't allow him to win. Shika wasn't too sure with that assessment, from what he'd seen they had a much healthier relationship than Hikaru and Kaoru, they could go up against each other and fight and accept the winner won through use of fair means. They were hardly children afterall.

But still, he'd agreed to the Obstacle course and the Tightrope and the relay race.

He eyed their first obstacle, the 20-tiered vaults and shook his head, very few people would be able to Vault over those, and he knew more than a few would be crawling over them they were so high. The track seemed purposely built to prevent anyone aside from the two seniors taking part, but that hadn't taken him into account, true duelling tended to be standing still and throwing spells at one another, but who ever said that Harry could Duel worth a crap? He _fought_, and he fought dirty for that matter.

The Death Eaters called him Hunter for a reason.

Pulling his hair back the dark haired teenager adjusted his bandana to make sure his sloppy-cut fringe didn't get into his eyes before crouching slightly, knees flexing as he tilted his upper body forwards, he was stood on the other side of Haninozuka-senpai and he intended on taking advantage of that fact, all of his attention would be placed on Morinozuka-senpai – seeing him as the bigger threat, literally – allowing him to slip past them both.

He could feel adrenaline beginning to seem through into his body, making his heart beat a little faster as his muscles flexed in preparation for the sound of release. It was like the days when they discovered the Death Eater Safe-houses, when they would hide in the shadows and the long grass and the shrubbery, just waiting for the signal to crash into the small buildings with all the rage and force they could muster. More than once he had returned to headquarters dripping other people's blood across the floors and declared a mission success.

And now he was focusing all his attention again on that one moment.

That moment of release when he was free.

"_**Ready... set... GO!!**_"

The tension snapped within his body and his whole world narrowed.

He was pretty much ahead of both Morinozuka and Haninozuka when they reached the vaults, like in every Quidditch Match he had flown in, the commentators remarks became nothing but a background rumble, a distant buzz as he launched himself up. Hands gripping the padded vault box as his arms and stomach muscles clenched and flexed, pulling his legs up and over his head, allowing him to flip over the first vault and land in the middle. His body crouching with the impact and launching upwards to do the same on the second vault, Haninozuka passing him in midair.

Landing in a crouch beside the blonde the two exchanged glances and Harry knew he was suddenly on the contender's list.

He shot off, running across the lines of tyres instead of going through them – why on earth was Morinozuka trying to go through them? And why was Haninozuka copying him? Didn't they know you were only supposed to stick your feet in and try to run through the holes to the other end? – he managed to take the lead at that point, which was a good thing because the next obstacle was a cake. A major problem for him, he didn't eat much anyway so he doubted if he could actually fit an entire cake into his stomach without making himself sick.

He ended up cheating a little at the cake obstacle.

He would take a large amount, bite it, shrink it, swallow it and repeat. He'd managed to get half his cake down when the other two showed up, but it was a decent start, though watching Morinozuka swallow the whole thing was slightly disturbing if somewhat amusing. He managed to finish eating the cake after Haninozuka bolted off after Morinozuka screeching about how you had to savour the cake; Shika took off after them, mentally vowing never to eat cake in front of the blonde.

He managed to get in second through the netting, slithering his way through past Morinozuka and coming out just behind Haninozuka.

High vault was next.

He suppressed his small smirk of delight as he gripped the long white pole, 'just like Quidditch,' he thought absently as he jabbed one end into the ground and flung himself upwards, dimly aware of Haninozuka falling short as he twisted himself over the bar and landed in a cat-like crouch.

Yes. Definitely like Quidditch.

At least, in his mind it was.

"_**Oh my god!! Morinozuka caught Haninozuka who lost balance in midair!! What a beautiful cousinly love!!**_"

Shika arched an eyebrow, that was basic human courtesy in his book, someone is in trouble, you go and you help them. He sighed and stretched lazily.

"_**And the winner is... RED TEAM!! With Akegata hitting the mattress before Morinozuka!! Red Team finally get first place!!**_" The announcer exclaimed gleefully.

Shikamaru smirked, glancing over his shoulder from where he was stretching out the tension in his back to where Morinozuka was standing, watching him with Haninozuka attached to his waist.

"Do try to keep up Morinozuka-san." He teased, adrenaline still high as he sauntered off, for a moment remembering the arguments he used to have at Hogwarts with Oliver Wood during Quidditch, the way the girls would faun over him a little at the end and the twins would tease him mercilessly. He missed the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, he really did. He never saw the faint pink hue that crawled across Takashi's face, nor the mixed expression of amusement and slight disgust on Mitsukuni's face.

Getting himself some water, the dark haired teenager rubbed at his shoulder absently, trying to relieve the slow ache that had settled into the scarred muscle.

He had finished his water by the time he was due to take part in the Tight-rope walking contest, he didn't even have to use the provided balance pole as he lazily wandered across the wire before pausing in the middle, his deeply buried and hidden showman deciding to surface as he bent backwards, one hand landing on the wire before he flicked his legs up above his head. Holding himself up in a one armed handstand before one leg arced to the side and it became a cartwheel, then he walked to the other side and hopped off. Funnily enough, they won the tightrope walking contest.

To be honest, if they wanted him to do something difficult they should have brought out the Nimbus 2000 and had him stand on it while going at 150m/h trying to catch the snitch with a Bludger hot on his heels. _That_ would have been difficult.

Haruhi grinned at him when he sat down beside her, "I didn't know you had such good balance Shika." She admitted.

The green eyed teenager smiled, "I don't usually like to show off so not many people _do_ know what I'm capable of." He admitted. Not many aside from the DA and the Death Eater's Inner Circle – the former having trained with him and the latter having been on the receiving end of him.

Haruhi offered him a water bottle which was gratefully accepted, "Still. Its surprising, we knew you were fast but to beat Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai... that's impressive."

"They were too focused on one another to notice that someone had snuck in through them. Unsurprising. Not many people in Ouran _**can**_ come to their standard." He admitted lazily rubbing at his shoulder again, frowning, it had been aching a lot more lately... ever since he'd found out Avery was in Japan, must've been a psychological thing, he was just more aware of the ache because the one who caused it was now constantly on his mind due to the fact he was killing kids in Harry's city.

"I'd better go. Relay race is in a few minutes." He stated calmly, getting to his feet, he was to be the second runner in the hopes that it would give the red team a significant lead, enough so that even if Kuze-senpai couldn't run there was an almost guaranteed chance that whoever took his place would beat the White Team.

That is, of course, if no one fumbles and drops the baton.

Which was exactly what happened when the guy Shika handed the bat to did a couple of feet away from the fourth-runner.

Up in the stands, Takashi felt something inside of himself shrivel up and cry for mercy, oh Kamis no, please don't win Kyouya!

"_**OOTORI!! OOTORI KYOUYA WINS!! WHITE TEAM WINS!!**_"

Mitsukuni gave his cousin a broad smug grin that had him flinching ever so slightly, his eyes narrowing on his cousin unhappily.

Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, _damnit!_

His eyes flickered to where Shikamaru was stretching out at the side of the field, rubbing at his shoulder with a pensive expression on his face before he stretched it out as well. He knew the other teen would say no if he approached him, he was still damaged, still terrified, they couldn't even touch due to his Aphephobia, though Takashi had noticed he was getting well enough to allow his younger brother to hug him – he stomped on the brief surge of jealousy – and unless he took a more active part in the other's life and became that much more affectionate/touchy-feely, it looked like things were going to remain that way.

He dreaded the thought of trying to be... intimate with the other in his current emotional state.

Not that he didn't want to be y'know... like that, with the other teenager, because he really did, _really_ did, but... His mind flickered back to the scars on the boy's back, the ones that slid down into his trousers on his hips, he didn't want to... to remind him, or force him, or even upset him.

He sighed softly, perhaps a little in irritation as well when he saw his cousin celebrating with Tamaki and the others, not only was he going to have to ask the younger teenager out and make it implicitly clear that Takashi was interested romantically, as opposed to being just friends, but he was also having to foot the bill for all of Mitsukuni's cakes for the next three months.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Hopefully he could put this off for a while.

-

_Subject finds favour with old style combat spells common during the 280AD period of Russia, most notably within this repertoire is:_

_**Blood Boiling Curse:**__ A sickly yellow spell with black energy offshoots(1). No counter curse. Incantation is silent. Boils the blood within the body until the subject is dead, depending on the power of the curse, death could take upwards of ten seconds to three days. It cooks the body from the inside out. Commonly used against Feral Vampires wandering the forests due to -_

"Akegata!"

Setting down his pen, Shikamaru looked up as one of their lab technicians approached him; unlike the European and Middle East Ministries, Japan had embraced Muggle advancement in medicine and in science. They used both to get the job done.

"Naba-san, how can I help you?" He asked, setting his report aside and pushing away from his desk to face the man fully.

"We've just had the results back, there are no matches but we have found a corresponding magical signature on another body found roughly about a week before the victim in your current case. Here's a recording of the signature." He stated handing over a small orb made of moonstone – various stones held magic better, emerald was fantastic for holding spells, quarts for controlling wards and moonstone for absorbing magic.

Shikamaru took out his wand from where he had it pinning his hair back – safer there than in his backpocket – allowing the thick raven strands to fall around his shoulders as he tapped the stone Naba had placed onto his desk, feeling a _**very**_ familiar signature clicking in the back of his head.

The dark haired teenager reared back, staggering upright and staring at the stone as though it were about to come alive and attack him. His breathing was coming out in sharp pants as all the colour drained from his face and his hands began to shake.

"Akegata-san!?" Naba demanded in alarm, "Ayanaga, something's wrong with Akegata!" he called over to the other Parselmouth, Kenichi blinked mismatched eyes at him and vaulted over his desk.

"Kiddo?" He asked approaching the 17-year-old warily, ever since he'd started training with the Haninozuka Kenichi had been wary of getting into an actual fight with the kid, he was a Beast on the field before, now he was an absolute Monster for whoever pissed him off.

"Rosier."

Kenichi froze.

He knew that name. Evan Rosier, a second generation Death Eater, made it to the Inner Circle on Sadism alone before his talent for Demon Invocation and lost Ancient Magicks was discovered, red haired, brown eyed, pale skinned, tall and wiry, he had muscle, he was cunning like a fox and crazier than his third cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. He spent a good stint in Azkaban and came out more akin to that of a wraith than a human, he no longer cared about his master's goals as long as he got what he wanted, it was as though a third of his basic psychological frame had been ripped out, his Ego was gone. Leaving just his I.D. and his Super-Ego, and of course, in any human being, one would be more predisposed to listen to the I.D. which only is concerned with the wants and desires of the individual as opposed to the Super Ego who was harsh and judgemental. But that was Rosier's problem, he listened to both and it made him all the more unstable. Listening to the Super Ego made him angry, made him hate himself and loath his very existence and then he would just build up and up and up until he took his frustrations out on someone else.

"He already has a death sentence." The Parselmouth told the other teenager, his voice descending into icy calm that made Naba look between them nervously. They were both famous within the ATOC for various reasons, but the sheer destructive power they both contained and wielded made the lab technicians whisper in awe and terror. They had been the ones to clean up the scene in the Caribbean from the ambush that went so horribly wrong, Akegata's spell chains, Ayanaga's Basilisk Animagus form... The damage was _extensive_. "You won't have to worry about taking him in alive."

Silence.

Then:

"I wasn't planning to anyway."

-

**Blood boiling curse**: yellow in the middle, black on the outside as the energy fizzles away. Yes, Hufflepuff colours because I really liked Stalker's idea of Hufflepuff being a Pirate and I'm keeping it 8DD my homage to her, Hufflepuff will continue to be a badass.

BTW: to avoid any confusion, Evan Rosier is NOT, I repeat _**NOT**_ an OC. He's a canon character.

**Finito.**

**Major update peoples. Black Birds, Lightning on the Wave, Resonance, two new stories, A Mile in Your Eyes – HPNaruto crossover featuring Harry and Sakura as cousins. And Distance – a new take on the whole 'Harry leaves the Wizarding world' gig. Check them out and enjoy the updates 8DD**


	20. Chapter 20

**Black Birds**

-

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY STALKER OF STORIES!!!** Also, please note this chapter is shorter than the others because this is the _eighth_ rewrite and frankly I'm sick of looking at this shit. **(KICKS LAPTOP THAT REFUSES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUCK A SAVE PROGRAMME IS)** Therefore I have been limited to typing this up at work. Not. Fun.

-

**Also, please read the A/N at the bottom of the chapter. I'm fed up of having people ask the same damn questions again and again.**

-

What so few people realised was that out of all the Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange was _not_, in fact, the one that Neville Longbottom hated the most.

Entering into the now dark room that he shared with Harry, he nudged aside a few empty bottles with a foot and sat himself down beside the smaller male on the floor. The green eyed teenager had his back against the bed, sitting on the floor with a knee pulled up to his chest, bottle of 1886 mature Firewhiskey half empty in his fingers, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glassy with the alcohol, even as his eyelids were red and puffy with tears he never _ever_ shed in public. Grim brown eyes took in the thin arms, the milk-pale skin, the unkempt black greasy hair... Harry had always carried the '_Lost Waif_' look rather well, even when they were in Hogwarts and learning that the world wasn't as wonderful as everyone made it out to be.

He sighed softly in the darkness, wrapping an arm around the smaller teen's shoulders, feeling him move and curl against his side, fingers tightening on his whiskey bottle as he took another hit, liquid burning a trail down his throat.

Once upon a time ago... Neville would have been ecstatic to be in this position, to be holding Harry like this, just the two of them.

Harry had been his first crush, his first love, the one that made Neville realise that he was more interested in those of his own gender than the opposite one. At first, it had been simple hero-worship, the desire to be in the same light as the Boy-Who-Lived, but then it became genuine admiration and vague affection for the smaller teenager as he stood strong against the constantly shifting tides of hatred and awe the Wizarding Realm subjected him to and then developing into a full blown crush in their fifth year during the DA when he spent so much time helping him improve on his spell work, on his confidence, on _himself_. That crush had developed into love after they'd left Hogwarts and joined the Order officially, during that first harrowing raid they went on, when he saw Harry get flung back under a neon blue spell, when his heart stopped and his blood ran cold and it felt like all of his organs attempted to escape out of his throat at the same time.

But then he'd gone missing. Captured along with Natalie, Dean and Professor Sprout.

On a subconscious level, he knew Bellatrix had been merciful to his mother and father. She had tortured them until their mind's broke, until everything that was them died, leaving behind infants in their bodies. But she didn't poison them, she didn't twist and tear at them, she didn't play with them the way Harry's Tormentor did, didn't destroy him and keep on destroying him from afar, with just the memory of his name or his face or his hands.

Neville hated Bellatrix Lestrange, but he was also thankful to her for the simple mercy she granted his parents, the fact that they were gone, that she laid them to rest.

He _loathed_ Evan Rosier with every fibre of his being for destroying Harry, for continuing to destroy him.

For poisoning him and slowly picking apart the fabric of the life he had managed to regain.

Neville hated Evan Rosier for stealing what could have been.

When Harry had returned, when he recoiled away from touch and from contact and hid himself away and took to Dreamless Sleep to the point where he became addicted, when he started having screaming nightmares, when he broke Molly Weasley's arm... his heart broke. His heart broke because he was in such pain and so terrified and he couldn't help, there was no magical cure, no magical solution to help his friend, to save him. And it broke his heart.

So he shoved his feelings aside, ignored them, refused them, because in his current state, Harry's self-revulsion at the acts the Death Eaters had performed on him made him recoil, made him hide and cower away from those who would look at him and see his body instead of him. He never noticed that over time, as they fought, bled, cried, drank, slept, laughed and argued long and bitter petty fights with one another that his feelings had changed, that his love had mellowed and smoothed and changed.

It was still love. But it wasn't the same kind of love.

He no longer looked at Harry and felt that pleasant, restless squirming in his stomach, the _zing_ down his spine and the lump in his throat. It was a warm soft feeling in his chest, like sunlight on his skin, and he couldn't help but feel protective. He still loved him, he just didn't want to be _with_ him.

Which was fine for everyone involved.

-

Kyouya sighed, leaning back in his seat as he looked around the sights of France.

The idiot should have been here. And Akegata-san.

Kyouya cursed that foul old woman of the Suou Family in his head and not for the first time either, her behaviour was deplorable in polite and commoner circles – Haruhi's reaction to what small hints dropped about Tamaki's history spoke well enough to the average person's views he felt and the melancholy of everyone else's at those hints – when they caught them – did as well. Akegata's was interesting though, he looked on the scene with grim acknowledgement and moved on, just as Tamaki had, but unlike the Frenchman he didn't linger or attempt to change anything. He just kept moving.

And then there was the name '_Potter_'.

He hadn't had a chance to look into that name since he heard that Commoner Thug Dursley snarling at his classmate – he had also taken note of Mori-senpai's instant defence of the smaller teenager, how interesting, perhaps he could use this to up designations? – but he knew that it was a European name, not French but there was a good chance he had probably been to France. Now, what did all those Commoner friends of his call him? Harold, Hadrian, Harry? Yes that sounded about right, Harry, Harry Potter.

"Tachibana." He intoned quietly, knowing full well that his dedicated Bodyguard was hidden behind him, absently he wondered how much he should sneak into the man's account for aiding him in this, not that he ever noticed Kyouya quietly adding money to his paycheques as a personal thank you – he wasn't entirely heartless _or_ blind to the care his guards showed him. He supposed he should have been a little depressed that his guards showed him more paternal affection than his own father, but the fact that his father did not completely disregard him was also a form of acknowledgement. He stopped thinking on it, while he may have been excellent at divining the thoughts and motives of those around him via what information he could dig up, his father's mind was a complete enigma. One that he had no intention of unravelling because he had a fair idea that he would not like what he found under the layers.

"Kyouya-sama." The man intoned seriously from behind his plant pot, really, he was just as bad as Tamaki when it came to picking hiding places.

"See what you can dig up on a '_Harry Potter_', European, worked in Anti-terrorism from a young age. He should still be a teenager at this point, black hair, green eyes, a large collection of scars." The teenager listed, vaguely aware that one of his other guards was noting the description down.

"A teenager working in Anti-terrorism?" Came the somewhat concerned and disbelieving response.

"Apparently the Terrorists in question held a particular interest in him. See what you can find."

There was a rustle of leaves and for a moment, Kyouya could believe that he was alone, but he knew he wasn't and refrained from sighing as he looked up at the sky, studying the clouds drifting lazily across the pane of azure blue.

He wondered what was happening with the twins and the seniors without them...

They would be fine.

Mori and Hani-senpai could keep Hikaru and Kaoru in line easily enough.

Nothing to worry about.

-

If only that were true.

Takashi was staring at the phone as thought it were a live Spider about to come alive and bite his nose off.

"_Kashi-itoko? Are you alright? Takashi? Heh-llooooo?_"

"Sakura-chan." He began, completely unsure of how to continue, "You are... being truthful?" He asked warily, hardly daring to believe his ears.

She huffed, "_Of course I am Itoko. I wouldn't joke about something like this!_" She reprimanded before giggling, "_He's nothing like his mother and father, Itoko. He's sweet and kind and a perfect gentleman and he's trying so hard to understand and conform to our customs. For me Itoko! No one has _ever_ done something so romantic like that for me!_" She gushed happily. Takashi had to restrain the nastier part of his tongue before he said something along the lines of 'because they already knew their manners', he could tell his cousin was happy, very happy, but he wasn't, he didn't trust her new 'boyfriend' and nor did he like him overly much. He openly admitted he was a thug in his youth, his mother and father were rude, racist and he did not want them anywhere near his family or connected to them in any way.

But she sounded so happy.

"You are happy." He admitted, slightly sullenly, which only made her laugh.

"_Yes Takashi, I am. Please give him a chance, he really wants to make this work._"

"I will... try." He conceded, she giggled slightly before giving him the usual goodbyes and then hanging up.

Takashi slowly put the phone down and glared at the far wall.

His little cousin, Sakura-chan, was dating Dursley Dudley.

This needed looking into.

-

Mitsukuni couldn't stop giggling as he explained Takashi's overprotective reflexes to the twins who were desperately trying not to laugh at the dark expression on the other Senior's face, the way his foot occasionally twitched as he glared out of the window.

Despite the so called 'split' of the Hitachiin twins, they were still as strong as ever, and finding the same things funny. Hence Takashi's current misfortune of being stuck in a limo with them and his cousin on their way to a certain dark haired second year's house to demand information on his cousin, Dursley Dudley.

Like most dogs, Takashi was fiercely protective of people, his family and the Hosts for one, that list had gradually expanded to include Kasanoda-san and a few of the younger years, then growing to include Luna-san, Ginii-san and Shikamaru. But his family were always the most important in his mind, hence why he called up Mitsukuni to inform him about Sakura-chan's new boyfriend and his plan of '_attack_'. He had just been unfortunate enough to have called while Mitsukuni was at the Hitachiin estate, where the twins heard everything and seemed determined to join in. Either from boredom or a general desire to help or just to distract themselves from the recent upheaval, he didn't care, he just kind of wished they weren't joining them.

"Say, Takashi, have you asked Shika-chan out on a date yet?" Mitsukuni suddenly asked, brown eyes glinting with unholy evil.

Silence.

The whole car went silent at the twins stared at the tall Senior in pure shock.

Takashi was going to wring Mitsukuni's neck, he decided, cheeks burning dark red.

"No." He grunted, giving the blond a _Look_.

They had just pulled up to the house when the information managed to sink into the minds of the twins, the sudden clamour of questions and laughter and general light hearted ribbing had Takashi's face a dark shade of red as he quickly climbed out of the limo and escaped into the front garden, Mitsukuni bouncing onto his shoulders with an evil little giggle.

"_I should skin you alive._" Takashi muttered softly in Mandarin. Mitsukuni just laughed. Bastard.

"Shikamaru. Damn. I never would have figured it was _him_!" Hikaru was muttering in surprise, Kaoru however was laughing into his hands.

"Well we all know how much Mori-senpai loves small and cute things. It was going to be either Haruhi or Shika." He pointed out with a chortle.

"But Shika? The most foul-tempered, vicious, serious, unapproachable guy in Ouran?" Hikaru asked, eyebrows in his new black hairline, Takashi refrained from smacking him, Shikamaru-san was not _that_ bad.

"Yup, I guess what they say about opposites is true!" Mitsukuni chirped from his cousin's shoulders, having felt then tense beneath him at the older twin's commentary about his crush. It was cute, but Mitsukuni still felt that Takashi could do much better than the foreign boy.

At this point Hikaru was frowning, "How do two men be together anyway?" He asked curiously.

There was a horrified silence as everyone tried to think of an answer before they looked at Takashi.

He blushed and quickly rang the doorbell so he would be saved from answering that question, what a thing to ask! On the doorstep of his so called 'Crush's house at that!

It was Hermione who answered, this time she was thankfully fully dressed in a pale blue summer dress over the top of a white long sleeved top to hide her prosthetic. She smiled at them in greeting.

"_Hey guys, can I help you with anything?_" She asked, standing aside to let them in.

"_Could we speak to Shikamaru-san?_" Takashi asked, taking the lead from his cousin for once, gaining odd looks from the other Hosts. Hermione, who knew very little about him, didn't find his swift response very strange, she did grimace though.

"_Shika is... upstairs. I'll just go tell him you're here. Please, take a seat. Sorry I can't get you anything to drink; it's all been moved upstairs since we're practically living in the office these days._" She explained gesturing to the still tidy living room which looked like it hard barely been touched since they moved in.

The foursome hesitantly sat down on the sofas as the brunette made her way upstairs to the attic where she and the rest of the household had holed themselves up going over evidence, profiles and brainstorming about motives and such. Downstairs, the four were looking around the room uncomfortably, it seemed rather... impersonal to their eyes.

That was when Hikaru spotted it.

"Hey, a photo album!" He exclaimed in surprise and slight excitement, he, like the rest of the Hosts, had fairly been _dying_ of curiosity about Akegata-san and his friends. Getting to his feet, the dark haired teenager gently lifted the slightly dusty leather bound book from where it was half hidden on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.

"I wonder how old it is..." Kaoru muttered as everyone fairly crowded around the thing, flipping it open they couldn't help but stare.

Three eleven-year-olds, three very familiar eleven year olds and an owl stood frozen in time, wearing long thick black woollen cloaks, red and amber knit scarves stood in front of a lake in late autumn. Hermione looked young and sweet, her front teeth slightly oversized, her hair just past her shoulders in a riot of curls and frizz, her fingers smudged with ink and a large heavy book clutched to her chest. Ron with his awful haircut, freckles and blue-blue eyes, a smudge on the side of his nose and a kind of childish toothy grin on his face, there was a smear of sauce down his front. And in the middle, looking absolutely tiny, was Shikamaru, his hair short, sticking up everywhere, large expressive green eyes hidden behind the most god-awful glasses any of them had ever seen, Hedwig perched on his shoulder somehow and he was smiling. It was a small one of slight confusion and affection, but it was a smile, a real one.

"Sweet Kami..." Hikaru muttered, staring at the image before flipping it over. It was another shot of the three but this time they were sat at a long table covered in food, wearing a sweater and a shirt and tie with the same red and amber colours, around them were lots of other children, some smiling at the camera, some pulling faces, a set of identical red headed twins were pouring syrup down someone's back with one of the teachers, a very stern looking older woman approaching them, her lips a thin pale line of anger and disapproval – even though her eyes glinted with amusement. They could see Neville, small and chubby, dirty hands and ears that stuck out too far to be attractive and an even worse haircut than Ron's. They could see another table of children in the image; everyone wore blue and bronze though.

The third picture was Shikamaru again, but he looked quite shocked, as though someone had called his name and taken a picture of him as he turned around, beside him you could see Ron, his mouth open and about to shovel in a piece of chicken and mushroom pie. Over their shoulders they could see Luna, her hair also long, wavy, slightly unkempt with a necklace made of corks and bottle-caps, she wore the blue and bronze uniform.

Then there was a picture of an army of red heads, a plump but smiling woman in a very outdated dress that looked as though it had seen many better days, her apple cheeks were dimpled and freckles, her tall and thin balding husband with an arm over her shoulder, glasses perched on a long nose, his ginger hair slightly awry, the two of them practically oozed love and a feeling of 'home' even in the picture , beside them stood two men, one a tall gangly boy with long hair, a fang earring, tight leather trousers and boots, he wouldn't have looked out of place at a rock concert, beside him was a shorter but much more muscular red head with a large shiny burn on his arm, his hair was short and his features weather beaten but he looked like the cheerful sort. Then there was another tall boy, glasses, hair immaculate, his close spotless though old and worn, obviously second hand, there was a shiny badge on his chest. Then came the twins, wearing the same devil-may-care grins on their faces that the Hosts recognised from the Hitachiin twins, they had their arms slung around the smallest two in the picture. Ron, who was trying to elbow them away from his hair and his boxers and little Ginny, so small and seemingly shy, she smiled uncertainly at the camera even as she subtly ground the heel of her foot down on her older brother's toe.

"That's Ron's family. Back when we were twelve." The Hosts jumped back guiltily as they caught Shikamaru's voice from behind them.

He didn't look angry, just tired and... Well just tired to be honest.

"Percy, the one with the glasses, and Mr Weasley there died back when I was sixteen. They worked in the same Government Building, it got turned into a bloodbath." He explained gently lifting the album away from them with a sad look on his face, "Mr Weasley was an odd duck, completely obsessed with technology and didn't understand a damn thing about it. He collected plugs and batteries." He admitted with a fond smile, "First thing he asked me was '_what is the function of a rubber duck?_', I thought he was trying to tell me a joke but he was seriously asking me what it was for." They noticed he didn't say anything about Percy as he closed the album and put it back on the shelf before sitting down and pulling his knees up to his chest.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" He asked, rubbing his face and looking at them expectantly.

"Your cousin, Dudley, he's seeing my younger cousin Sakura." Takashi spoke, blinking slightly as he nodded.

"Yeah. He was pretty scared about the whole thing, kept calling me up and asking for advice about how to talk to proper ladies. The girls he used to know from back home aren't exactly fit to bring home and introduce to your mother if you get my meaning." They didn't but they guessed that the girls were neither attractive, polite or especially intelligent.

"We want to know about Dudley." Mitsukuni explained, "Kashi's real protective 'bout Sakura-chan and Haku-chan."

"Where to start?" The green eyed teenager asked with a shrug, "His parents fucked him up young, he was given anything and everything he ever wanted from the word go, got away with everything, by the time we were thirteen he had reached the same weight as that of a baby killer-whale and the school he attended no longer stocked clothing large enough for him. He was a bully and a thug who took great pleasure in illegal activities such as smoking, drinking, taking drugs and vandalism in and around the area. Later on he started learning boxing and added beating up small children to the list. We were fifteen when I saved his life and he started looking at the world a little differently, I put him and the rest of the family into hiding as the Terrorists started to target me and mine, Luna kept bringing them information and updates, she refused to believe that they hated me as much as everyone else thought they did. I guess around that time he grew up and realised that the world didn't revolve around him. Now a days he's just a regular guy, he works hard in school to try and make up for all the years he screwed himself over by getting high and skipping classes, he has a paper route in the morning, he's stopped drinking, smoking and doing drugs, still boxes but now he actually teaches the younger kids instead of beating on them.

"That's about all I know." He admitted with another shrug. "But I can tell you that I've already had words with him. Sakura's one of my friends and I don't take that lightly. He knows that if he fucks up it'll be me on his ass and he doesn't want that again."

Takashi nodded, a little stunned at how easily he got so much information, Akegata was usually entirely closed mouthed and withdrawn on the subject of family. He must have been _extremely_ tired to have blurted all that out without further prompting.

"Thank you Shikamaru-san." He intoned politely.

"S'fine Takashi-saaahn." He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his mouth as a yawn distended the Senior's name. "Was there anything else?" He asked, rubbing his face and then slapping his cheeks to wake himself up.

Takashi ignored the elbowing that Mitsukuni was making to his sides, "No, thank you very much." He stated getting to his feet and grabbing the blond by the elbow to help him up. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly before he shrugged a shoulder and likewise got to his feet, the twins following close behind, waiting on baited breath to see whether or not the Senior would drop the question.

"It was nothing. Oh!" Shika suddenly jerked and got to his feet, "Wait here." He told them before jogging up the stairs and returning with a sheet of paper, scribbling a number on the side. "If you see any of these people, call me and then run the fuck away. They're the Terrorists that managed to escape charges or prison while I was in England, they're dangerous and they won't hesitate to kill. They've been developing new technology for a while now so if you see anything strange don't question it, tell me about it and I'll be there as fast as I possibly can. This is my mobile number. It's on at all times but only call me in an emergency." This was said with a sharp glare at Hikaru and Kaoru, "Because if I get a call on this number, I'm sending out the whole of the ATOC in _force_ and heavy armaments."

The twins nodded frantically in agreement, no prank calls on Shika's special mobile number.

"Good. I'll see you at some point in the future. Don't know when. I'll come back to school when these guys have been put away though, not before." He added with a small smile before ushering the teenagers out of the house and closing the door behind them, before Mitsukuni could embarrass Takashi again.

The fact that Shikamaru seemed perfectly fine with pressing his hand against the Senior's shoulder went completely unnoticed by everyone save Takashi himself.

He ignored all the teasing when they got into the car, staring out of the window with an invisible smile curled into the corner of his mouth.

-

**NATALIE MCDONALD IS A CANON CHARACTER – check the fucking Goblet of Fire. She's in the Sorting Ceremony.**

**ALL THE DEATH EATERS ARE CANON CHARACTERS.**

**THESE ARE ALL THE **_NON-CANON CHARACTERS:_

Kenichi Ayanaga, Kaede Hitsugaya, Haku Kakuyoku, Sakura Kakuyoku, All the Morinozukas save Takashi and Satoshi, Rahkesh and Sarah Setaccio, Zaraki, Isao, the murdered little girls, EVERYONE IN THE ATOC.

-

**Bad week. Very bad week. Granny had a stroke. We will leave it at that.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Black Birds**

-

It was chaos.

Complete and utter chaos.

People were running, shouting, issuing orders, arguing, freaking out, there were wands sparking and objects whistling and cell phones blaring and Shikamaru was getting a god awful migraine over it all.

Lucius Malfoy had been spotted in Tokyo.

The blond aristocrat had been spotted stood in a quiet out of the way Magical District, right in front of a TV store, watching the glowing screens. Witnesses claimed his expression was everything between angry, disgusted, scornful and unnaturally cold and flat. Which, to Harry and the remnants of the DA, he was _very_ displeased about something he had seen in those TVs. Yet no one could remember just _what_ was playing on them.

One of the more worrying things was that he was dressed impeccably and seemed to be in good health.

Considering how he would have only just broken out of Azkaban this was highly suspicious to Shikamaru's paranoia stewed mind. Was there someone on the inside of the new Azkaban Guards helping Death Eaters live in comfort until they broke out?

Just to be on the safe side, he sent a letter to Kingsley Shacklebolt suggesting he crack out the Veritaserum and start checking all his staff in contact with Death Eaters or known sympathisers. Slytherin wasn't known for having a silver tongue just because the school emblem was a silver serpent – they were manipulators extraordinaire and considering how weak minded most Wizards were Harry didn't hold much hope for one of them having _not_ gone turncoat after a few carefully worded arguments.

Still.

If Lucius was here, then so was Narcissa and there was no _chance_ that they would have left their Murderous little Spawn back in Europe. No, they would have brought him with them.

Draco Malfoy was in Japan.

-

He loved watching her play with the cards.

The way her swift, nimble fingers manipulated the thin sheets without bending or creasing them, the faint sound of them passing through the air as she shuffled them with practiced motions. The scent of her hair and perfume lingering in the air, the sound of the trees and plants around them, the occasional shriek of laughter from children far away.

Mitsukuni smiled brightly at her when her eyes flickered towards him, enjoying the slight pink hue that coloured her cheeks and the clumsy, slightly hesitant smile he received in return from the doll-like girl in front of him.

Despite having won the bet between himself and Takashi, his thoughts had found themselves drifting to his forfeit more than once. The idea of going steady with Reiko-chan... it gnawed at him. The idea of being with someone, not because they designated him as their Host, but because he genuinely wanted to be with them, was one that hammered at his skull until he found himself stood in front of Reiko-chan's front gate and ringing the buzzer before he could convince himself that this was a bad idea.

But it wasn't. It was the best one he'd had in his whole life.

Because Reiko had answered the door in a white dress and Mitsukuni found himself unable to say anything for a full ten seconds as he studied her up and down, making the porcelain skin of her face turn pink with embarrassment.

He'd asked her then and there if she would be his girlfriend.

She said yes.

And he hadn't regretted a moment of it, yes he couldn't find much in the way of time to spend with her without Takashi or the other Hosts around, but that was alright, she was fairly devoted to the Black Magic club as well. And the two were still adjusting to one another, for the moment, their relationship was innocent, nothing beyond holding hands or that one time when Reiko-chan had kissed him on the cheek.

Right now, they were in the park, just sitting on a large black velvet ground sheet, it was cold and they were wrapped up warm and Mitsukuni was feeling sleepy and full from all cake he'd eaten earlier.

He was beginning to doze when he noticed Reiko-chan murmuring under her breath as she laid out the cards of the Major Arcana in front of her, expression slightly troubled.

"What is it Rei-chan?" The blond asked, levering himself up to finally hear what she was muttering.

"**Judgement** – Fate, **Wheel of Fortune** – An unexpected event, **Death** – the death of a person, situation or issue." She muttered, fingers tracing the three-card line up with a troubled expression, "An unexpected death... Person or situation... Fate... preplanned? '_You get what you deserve_'... A Karmic debt? Human, the death of a person perhaps? A dead person in his future?" She was muttering, eyebrows creased as she began pulling more cards out and laying them down with an almost feverish intensity. Making Mitsukuni sit up fully and try to catch her attention, but she didn't seem to even realise he was there anymore.

"**The Magician** – Employment, **The Hanged Man** – Plans suspended, the Sacrifice may be too great, **The Emperor** – Will." She moved down and made another line of three cards, "**The Chariot** – Moving quickly, **The Lovers** – love or choice, **The Tower **– The chaos that comes before enlightenment..." She chewed her lips, hands fluttering over the cards anxiously. Mitsukuni didn't understand what the problem was, they were just cards, but he remained silent. Reiko followed the ways of the Occult with almost religious reverence; the fact that more often than not she was correct in her predictions was what prevented Mitsukuni from brushing her off as a silly gullible little girl. "Employment and plans suspended, the death means he is stopped from something at work or school... Will '_Intent follows action_', he will act? Despite the plans being stopped? Moving quickly, he does it soon, he has a choice... chaos before enlightenment, chaos... his choice will lead him into chaos? But soon it will abate?" She rubbed her face, chewing her lips again, "I don't like this." She finally said, her voice shaky, almost on the verge of breaking, "I don't like it. I really don't."

Mitsukuni hugged her.

He didn't like the sound of the cards either.

She never saw the Fool slip from her deck and land atop the Death Card.

-

"Akegata!"

The green eyed teenager looked up from the large map he and the rest of his group were going over, "Fae-sama?" He greeted curiously.

Ever since Ron, Hermione and the remainder of the DA returned, he had been taken off of his usual team under the blonde woman and placed in charge of them. Meaning that now, apart from time in the office, he rarely had contact with his previous Team as most of his time was spent working from home.

"Get your uniform on." She declared, "All of you." She added, looking at Ginny in her black leather miniskirt, blood-red men's shirt and thigh high black heeled boots. "We have a high profile case, Press are swarming all over the place and the ATOC need to be seen as professionals. Your team is partnering with mine on this, the press coverage isn't something we can wave away this time, add to that, I believe you know the daughter of the deceased, and those responsible for her killing."

Shikamaru nodded, not bothering to argue or obtain more information before he was gesturing to the rest of his friends to follow him into the changing rooms. They each had their own lockers with a full uniform, it was a typical police officers uniform in Navy blue with one or two extra pockets and holsters for their specialist equipment. The group changed and made their way out of the room, following Fae and the rest of her team as she led them through the halls and into the garage where they all bundled into a collection of shiny black cars.

"Who is the deceased?" Ron asked when they were all seated.

"Kanazuki Ayeka, the famous TV clairvoyant. But what a lot of people didn't know is that she is a _real_ Seer. She just decided to do her predictions for cash and fame." Kai explained from the front seat, disgruntled expression on his face, "I heard she has a daughter who inherited her talent."

"She does. Kanazuki Reiko. She's in the year below me at Ouran. Sweet girl, an odd duck but very nice." Shika admitted with a twist of his mouth, "She idolised her mother. She's going to be heartbroken."

"She's the one who found the body." Fae broke in from where she was driving.

Kai nodded, "Her and her boyfriend had just gotten back from a picnic in the park, she'd been doing Tarot readings and had one that concerned her so she headed home. Opens the front door and finds her Ma's dead body at the foot of the stairs with a bloody great big charred hole in her spine." He detailed for them as they drove through a red light, siren whirling, "'Nichi says she's handling it well, all things considered. Hasn't spoken a word."

Shikamaru sighed and stared out of the window, Reiko's mother... Ayeka was a damn good witch, a Seer greater than Trelawny and she was well known for her Curses, Curses that made Reiko's look like loving swats by comparison. No pure magic user in Japan could have taken her down, many of the physical wizards/witches in Japan wouldn't have been able to take her out. Which meant...

"Didn't she have a show on in the Thursday afternoon slot?" He asked a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes." Fae agreed, making him groan. "You have an idea of this?" She asked.

"A vague one. Let me examine the scene before I can be certain."

-

The last person Mitsukuni expected to walk through that door was Akegata Shikamaru and his friends.

He knew they worked for Antiterrorism but he'd always assumed they did only Administrative roles, filing, occasionally a bit of research or forensics, but front line officers? That he had not expected.

"Ginny, Neville, you two take their statements. Ron, tell me what you find. Hermione, go with Luna and examine the area, I'll check the body. Sarah-san, would you join me?" The green eyed teenager asked, looking to the tall brunette girl who had come in a few steps behind the group. She nodded and the group of teenagers quickly dispersed, leaving the tall blonde woman to issue orders to those remaining behind.

"Haninozuka-san, Kanazuki-san, this way please." The brunet officer who had been keeping them company spoke, gesturing for them to follow him, Ginny and Neville into the living room, he assumed the brunet was there to act as a translator because it was painfully obvious that neither Neville nor Ginny knew how to string a sentence together in Japanese.

He glanced over his shoulder briefly to see Akegata on his knees next to Reiko's mother, not touching the body and tracing the edges of her charred back with a finger, muttering to the brunette woman who was nodding, a frown on her face. She pointed to the bleed out in the centre of her back and said something; Akegata shook his head and spoke.

He didn't see anything else because at that point the brunet from earlier placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling sympathetically and gently steering him into the living room.

-

**Just a short chapter. I wanted to get something out for you guys. My apologies.**

**Things have been hectic the past two weeks. My grandmother died on the 27th of September, we went to her funeral on the Friday up in Motherwell Scotland. It was a nice service. My uncles got absolutely trashed at the Wake – as is only right and proper in Scotland (apparently). Went home on Sunday, took Monday off, went in on Tuesday, left at Wednesday lunchtime because my housemates gave me flu. **_Flu_**. Spent the rest of the week in bed feeling utterly miserable and unable to write because computer screens gave me abominable headaches.**

**This chapter didn't really have much planned for it, it's really only a filler but it does plan the way for some interesting scenes later on, hopefully.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed Hani and Reiko's fluffy moment. I know I enjoyed writing it.**

Araceil


	22. Chapter 22

**Black Birds**

-

Kanazuki Ayeka, aged 58 (in her prime for a Magical woman), graduate of Nanzen Mahou no Gakkou with a MASTERs in Divination and Ancient Runes, TV celebrity known as Madam Red due to her love of wearing ornate Victorian dresses of dark crimson and vivid scarlet. Widowed, mother of two, Eighth Generation Pureblood, mother of daughter Kanazuki Reiko, 16, and son Kanazuki Kimihiro, 9. Born Friday the thirteenth of May 1951, died November eleventh 2009 from causes yet to be investigated.

Shikamaru sighed as they loaded the body up, he hadn't been happy about them moving it so soon but he'd already done everything he could at the scene, until they got back to the ATOC there wasn't much one could do. He'd collected all the Magical Residue he possibly could and given the woman's body a serious eyeballing, something was chewing at him, something on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't get out. It was driving him to distraction.

He sighed, right now, he had more important things to worry about.

Like Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Kanazuki Reiko, Kanazuki Kimihiro and their Aunt, Inoue Nariko, who had come rushing over from Kobe the moment she received the call about her younger sister's death.

Kimihiro was still crying, clinging to his Aunt with a death grip, Reiko was sat on the sofa beside Haninozuka looking pale and grim, her eyes dry and her expression flat.

Kenichi stood at the door with Ginny and Neville, "Reiko-san wants to talk to you." The brunet told his colleague quietly.

"Before you do, here." Ginny handed him a notebook, "Their statements." She explained needlessly, watching as he flipped them open and gave each one a good eyeballing before pausing on Reiko's.

"Fool on Death?" He asked, looking at them.

"She was doing a Tarot reading before hand. The Fool fell out of the deck and landed face up on the Death Card." Neville explained quietly.

Shika swore, "Damn. Alright, I'll go speak with her, might need to pencil in a session with Orihime-san for her." He warned them.

In Tarot, the Fool stood for oneself, for you the reader. To have it land atop the Death Card of its own volition was a very dark omen indeed, what worried him was that the Death Card had made an appearance at all, no matter _who_ it was she was doing the reading for. Haninozuka-san perhaps? If so, then he needed to get the diminutive Martial Artist under Protection _immediately_. With Death Eaters running around Japan, he wasn't going to be taking any chances, especially when Rosier was one of them.

He looked at Haninozuka, studying him carefully.

He was small enough to peek the Death Eater's interest, the blond hair might put him off somewhat but the fact that Haninozuka was a fighter, had a lean frame with hard wiry muscles would only attract him – he liked it when they tried to fight back. The large soulful eyes would work against him as well; the fact that he had no scars as well would be a point as well. Rosier liked to mark his prey, leave a permanent etching on their body – such as the finger nails on his hips – he did not like the idea of prey which had already been 'claimed'/ruined.

Harry turned away from the room, feeling ill, his face felt entirely too hot and he was dimly aware that he was shaking and a sweat was beginning to form on his body.

He couldn't break down now.

He couldn't, this was a murder scene, he swallowed down his nausea, like it was a living organ trying to crawl out of his throat, something big and red and _internal_. He straightened his back and took a deep breath, shaking off the concerned hand Neville placed on his shoulder with a small smile before turning to the occupants in the room, a professional mask slipping flawlessly into place. An old friend, the face he wore during the war, all cold eyes and a grim frown.

"Kanazuki Reiko. My associate claims you wish to have a word with me." He stated bluntly as he entered further into the room and stood in front of her.

She nodded, "Yes. The cards, the Fool and the Death –

"I am aware of your unfortunate prediction Kanazuki-san." He interrupted, ignoring the glare Haninozuka was searing into his face, he was more than used to it. Angry as the Martial Artist was, he had nothing on a pissed of Severus Snape. "What I am interested in is whom you were drawing the Prediction for and why. The fact that the Death showed up at all is cause for concern with the current climate in our department." At this, the blond boy blinked in stunned surprise, he knew that Shikamaru had been a member of the Black Magic Club but he hadn't, for one minute, thought he was gullible enough to buy into that sort of thing. At alone for his Department to follow his lead, it was _madness_.

Reiko nodded, "I was drawing the prediction up on you actually." She stated, drawing a look of surprise from her boyfriend, Harry didn't react. "We grew uncertain and concerned with your prolonged absence from school. The thought struck me earlier this morning while I was with Tsuni-chan at the park to do a Reading on you. It was not... very favourable."

He nodded calmly, Divination, he hated it so much but since his life seemed to be threaded inexorably with it, he made sure to study and understand as much as possible.

"Those cards being?"

"The Judgement, the Wheel of Fortune, the Death, the Magician, The Hanged Man, the Emperor, The Chariot, the Lovers and the Tower." She listed, "It was a three card spread of the Major Arcana."

Shikamaru nodded grimly, his knowledge of Tarot was shaky at best – he knew Prophesy, Rune scattering and Smoke Reading much more intimately. But he knew the basic meanings and that was more than enough, since the Reading was about him, he found it easy to string those meanings together.

"Someone I know is going to unexpectedly die, that death will suspend plans already in motion but I'm going to continue with them anyway as quickly as possible. And then I will have a choice that will lead me into chaos for a time." He summarised simply enough, "Thank you Kanazuki-san, you've been most helpful. Your mother was kind enough to work with us in the past, undoubtedly, you have inherited her talents." He told her calmly, lips tilting just a fraction of a smile before he turned and started issuing orders again.

They were just leaving the house when a familiar figure began running up the stairs and past them.

Takashi paused half way up the stairs to watch as Shikamaru followed the rest of his Team in full uniform, not even glancing his way once, his whole face grim and hard as though carved from stone as they bundled into a black van and drove off with a wailed siren.

He watched until they had left the property before stepping into the hall, being careful not to walk into any of the taped off areas as he made his way into the living room.

Mitsukuni was hugging his trembling girlfriend tightly as she cried silently into his shoulder. There was nothing more he could do beyond offer his home for the now orphaned children and their Aunt to stay at.

It was the least he could do.

-

"_Avada Kedavra_ to the back of the head, she never saw it coming, _Reducto_ to the spine. Two different spells, two different casters. Both on our wanted list. Malfoy Lucius and – of all people..." Green eyes looked over the assembled, knowing what would happen the moment he uttered this name, "...Snape Severus."

The riot broke out just as predicted.

Shika remained silent as he watched the utter chaos around him, his eyes studying each of those in the room, their reactions and their facial expressions. It was Mai, Luna and Ginny that concerned him.

The three girls had gone stiff, their eyes narrowed and their faces paper white.

Severus Snape had done very well for himself in the War. He'd played both sides like a fiddle, and then most of all, the girls had trusted him, looked up to him, he'd saved their lives many a time and while they weren't friends, they trusted him enough to tell him about where they were hiding. About the dates they were going on supply runs and to whom. And he'd stabbed them in the back and _twisted_ the blade.

Dumbledore had not contacted them at all after the war. If only because he knew it was his fault they had lost what remained of their childhood's, their innocence and their trust. He had trusted Snape and convinced them to trust him as well when every instinct in the children said no, he manipulated them into that trust and in the end, it had cost Hermione her arm, Luna her father and Ginny her virginity. He didn't contact them because he was afraid of how they would react – which in a word was: violently.

Snape had decided that Voldemort was winning the war and decided to pitch his flag to the Dark Lord, only to have Harry turn around and thoroughly destroy the old bastard just when he'd made that flag public knowledge. So now Snape was stuck, he was not welcome in the light and he was only hailed as a hero amidst those whom he hated but joined for survival – funny how that drive to survive was going to end in his death Shikamaru decided, noting how Hermione's wooden hand had already crushed the section of the desk it was gripping.

"Motive is unknown but judging from the murderer's state of mind and beliefs, it is a fairly good chance that she was murdered for exploiting her magical talents to entertain the non-magical population. For 'revealing' our world in their eyes. Or, perhaps, because she married a squib. We're not quite sure and without Veritaserum questioning of Malfoy we can never be sure as Snape is immune to the Truth Serum himself by virtue of being a Potion's Master." Harry explained as he paced the front of the conference room, conjuring images in the air of each Death Eater.

"With the discovery of Kanazuki's body and the magical signatures on her corpse, we can positively identify a significant number of Voldemort's support base is now within the country." He continued, pointing to each face for the benefit of their Japanese companions who weren't as familiar with the feral animals in front of them compared to Harry and the remainder of the D.A. "Parkingson Pansy, Rosier Evan, Avery Tobias, Malfoy Lucius and Snape Severus. Considering the presence of Malfoy Lucius, it is safe to assume that his wife and son Narcissa and Draco have joined him in Tokyo. Meaning that out of all the remaining Death Eaters who have escaped Prison, only Lestrange Bellatrix, Dolohov Antonin, Nott Theodore, Crabbe Vincent jr, Goygle Gregory jr, Flint Marcus and Rookwood Jonathan have not been sighted." He conjured an illusion of the afore mentioned.

"Lestrange, Dolohov, Flint and Rookwood are the most dangerous of this group, do _not_ engage them if they have sighted you. Assassination-style take down is advised. Kill on Sight order is given for all of them save for Malfoy Draco, Malfoy Narcissa, Nott Theodore and Dolohov Antonin. Extreme caution should be extended to all members of the Death Eaters. Their files are being copied and distributed onto your desks as we speak; these files are extensive and extremely thorough. Favourite spells, personal _tastes_ and included is samples of Magical Signature and memories of previous battles against the individuals in question."

Hermione stood up then, "Through experience with the Death Eaters, we are more than fully aware that they will target civilians, specifically muggles who cannot fight back. As demonstrated with the recent spat of child-murders and disappearances around the city." She paused for a moment as the memory of Ayumi's corpse floated in front of her eyes and then shook her head. "As such, we suggest placing a number of individuals we have had contact with in the past into protective custody."

"Fujioka Ryoji, Fujioka Haruhi, Kasanoda Ritsu, Kanazuki Reiko and her brother Kimihiro, Nekozawa Umehito and his sister Kirimi, Suou Yuzuru, his mother and illegitimate son Suou Tamaki, the entire Ootori family, the Haninozukas, the Hitachiins, the Morinozukas and a few minor individuals here and there. A full list will be distributed later." Ginny listed, her voice hard.

Shikamaru stood up then, "Also... and none of you are going to like this... we want Veritaserum checks for every member of staff." Exclamations of outrage echoed through the room, "ENOUGH!! The Death Eaters specialise in domination and manipulation, the _Imperio_, compulsion spells, potions, threatening ones family. They stop at nothing. Thus the reason for the checks."

Only Hermione noticed the Setaccio twins exchanging pained glances.

-

**A short chapter. But it was a difficult one to write and I have chapter plans I want to stick to, this was about as much as I could squeeze in if I wanted to get this chapter out in time. I've recently been inundated with crossover bunnies of the One Piece nature. Upon checking the fandom for it, I can say I wasn't all that impressed, some of it was good, some of it wasn't.**

**Anyway, that's no excuse and I apologise.**

**On a lighter note, its my mum's birthday on the 17****th****. Happy birthday mum!**

Araceil


	23. Chapter 23

**Black Birds**

-

"We should tell them," Hermione stated, patience fast waning as she loomed over one Harry James Potter, hands planted on her hips and using her best '_do-as-I-say-or-you'll-never-get-a-moments-peace_' voice.

"No," but it was proving useless on her oldest friend.

"Harry, they need to know! How are we supposed to protect them properly if they haven't got an idea of what's going on? I don't know about you, but I sincerely doubt if those two will just sit back and let us get on with it if they see something dangerous," she pointed out, three steps away from throttling the green eyed male both literally and figuratively.

"And how, exactly, are we going to tell them? What do we do once the danger is over? Simply _obliviate_ them of the entire experience and hope to hell they don't question the massive gaping holes in their memories?" the Gryffindor asked sarcastically, times like this, Hermione really regretted dragging Harry out of his shell fully during the war. If there was one thing it had done for him, it was truly reveal just how much sarcasm and biting cynicism the Light's Golden Boy had kept bottled up behind his innocent-wholesome '_nothing's wrong, I'm perfectly fine_' act. Only slightly cracked and worn around the edges, but if no one looked at that, they wouldn't realise just how badly he was really unravelling.

The short haired woman threw her arms up, the wooden joints clattering softly with her frustration, "RON!! Come and beat some sense into him!" she demanded before marching off, snarling various pleasantries under her breath, ones that Harry were fairly sure either involved his father's family having sexual relations with a Troll – or a Crabbe – or the Dursleys dropping him on his head several times too many. The latter was always a possibility even if the former was a case of '_oh god I hope not_'.

The red head '_stared_' at Harry briefly before sighing, "Harry, I'm not happy about it either. Telling them. But it needs to be done and anyway..... with the way Luna's been acting, we would have had to do it eventually," he pointed out. There was no way Luna would make such an interest in someone she wasn't intending on _keeping_, ergo, marrying, ergo, bringing into their little close knit family.

Staring at his old friend with knife sharp eyes, Ron held his breath, and Harry sighed.

"You're right, but I'm still not happy about it. They're civilians, non-combatants, they should be completely unaware," he growled.

"Did it work for us? In the slightest, Harry?" Ron asked sardonically, Harry huffed and blew a strand of hair from his face. He had started wearing his glasses again, if only because he had run out of the special contact lenses he could keep in for months at a time. "Well then," Ron stated, "C'mon, we should sort out those idiots."

Harry grunted and pushed himself to his feet, trailing after his best friend up to the attic.

-

To say that Mitsukuni was happy with Shikamaru would be an outright lie.

Takashi nibbled on his bottom lip thoughtfully, his cousin was, in fact, properly angry with the younger teenager for the incident in Kanazuki-san's home regarding her mother and what he believed was a rather inappropriate handling of his girlfriend's feelings. Personally, Takashi thought that Shikamaru had said what was possibly the best thing, Kanazuki-san's reaction more than spoke in praise for him over the matter, she was upset yes, but she was living with it.

The Hosts and the Black Magic club had all rallied around the young girl, along with Kasanoda-san and a few other people in Ouran, upon hearing of her mother's death. The second years had returned from their class trip not so long ago and the ATOC had been organising the protection detail for the Hosts and other affiliated parties, in particular, getting the paperwork and the permission to inform those directly at threat about the Magical World and the reason for their needed protection.

Harry was not looking forward to it. He had finally become comfortable, content even, with his persona as Akegata Shikamaru. He had been at peace.

And then the corpse of a little girl bearing a lightning bolt carved onto her face showed up and spoiled everything.

When he got his hands on Rosier, the ATOC forensics team weren't going to be able to find a scrap of that bastard big enough to fit in a matchbox. That was a promise.

And now everything was coming to a head.

The Hosts and their families were all present in the ATOC meeting room, all confused and a little indignant over it all – save for Morinozuka Airi, formerly Haninozuka. She was studying the room with fascination, not in the least bit disturbed by their sudden and irrefutable demand to be present.

They could all see the happenings outside, the Department had been cleared out for the afternoon, all the magical artefacts turned off, for the grand unveiling as it were. The glass walls of the meeting room were still spelled silent to prevent anyone from overhearing what was being said, outside, the Muggles could see the other group of teenagers and some of the officers, all of them in uniform, discussing something.

It angered a few of the more uptight people in the room to learn that their safety against Terrorists was within the hands of children, _foreign_ children, and _women_(1). Particularly Ootori Yoshio and one Suou Megumi(2).

All of a sudden, it appeared as though a decision had been reached by the group outside and the precession of people in uniform broke up and made their way toward the glass meeting room.

"My apologies for calling you all in with such short notice," one of the women announced, her voice was powerful and professional, her posture that of someone who was used to her position and had _earned_ it. "My name is Histugaya Kaede, I am the head of the Anti-Terrorism and Organised Crime Division," she stated, taking a seat with her people stood protectively behind her.

Takashi found it hard to pull his eyes away from Shikamaru who was stood with his back straight, his eyes facing forward in an almost military '_at ease_' position, long hair pulled back tight, silver rimmed glasses perched delicately on the bridge of his nose obscuring those green eyes he hadn't seen for entirely too long.

"Why are we here, Hitsugaya?" Ootori Yoshio demanded, neglecting to tack on an honorific through sheer spite and irritation.

To her credit, Hitsugaya-taicho did not even react, "You are here, Ootori-san," and the other man bristled slightly at the lack of respect he was shown, much to his youngest son's private amusement, "because your lives are in danger, and we are here to protect them."

This little announcement had everyone falling into silence.

"Kinkaze-san, if you would," Kaede requested, looking to the blonde woman at her left.

"Hai, Taicho," the blonde woman intoned coldly, stepping forward and flicking something long and wooden at the air, "if you would all look at the far wall, you will see the reason why we have called you here," the woman stated flatly, her curiously golden eyes not even looking at them as she studied the faces on the screen. Turning, almost as one, everyone in the room were greeted by the faces of several Europeans on the far wall, the faces of the individuals Shikamaru had shown them. "These individuals are members of a Cult known as the _Death Eaters_, all of them are well known for their sadism, resources and the fact that they are all related to Nobility in some fashion, however minor, with the exception of one Greyback Fenrir who is treated more akin to that of a rabid attack dog than an actual member of their Cult."

"Why have they targeted us?" his grandfather, Morinozuka Kimihiro, asked, getting to his feet respectfully.

"Potter," Kinkaze intoned, looking over her shoulder to – _Shikamaru._

The green eyed male nodded curtly and stepped forward, "The full story is three steps short of unbelievable but I am aware that several of you are already knowledgeable on the subject," at this, he nodded to Suou Yuzuru and Takashi's grandmother Airi, "In front of you all should be a form, read through it carefully and sign, once you have signed I will be able to disclose our information fully and completely," he explained before giving them a glacial look, "Be aware, the consequences of breaking this contract will be far reaching and devastating. At best, your memories will just be removed, at worst, you will be arrested and your assets seized and recycled through the Government and put into projects more worth our time. And we will leave you to your fates," he added, almost as though it were an after thought. Which, considering how much the people in this room valued their money, it probably was to them.

Reading through the form, Takashi was surprise to note it was a simple non-disclosure contract, anything spoken within the room was not to be discussed in public where it could be overheard and nor was it to be disclosed to anyone who was not already in the know under any circumstances due to national security. There was no small print to bother reading so he reached for one of the pens on the table – pens he could have sworn weren't there thirty seconds ago, come to think of it, those forms weren't there until a minute ago either. A perplexed frown crossed his face as he fingered the pen, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, he glanced suspiciously at the uniformed individuals and caught the slightly approving eyebrow the head of the department quirked at him. No doubt she had realised he noticed something odd.

Once she had observed everyone signing the charmed forms – not that they knew that – Fae flicked her wand and they all vanished amidst gasps and yelps of alarm.

"Thank you, they will now be filed accordingly and your Government files updated to include M-level clearance," she explained before stepping back once again and allowing her foreign colleague to take the reigns of the meeting.

"Thank you Fae-sama," Harry intoned before flicking his wand at the far wall, removing the pictures she had conjured to hang there. "What you are about to be told is classified as a National Secret, very few people know of it and even less people who are not directly involved. As of last week, you all became directly involved," he explained before flicking his wand at the wall and conjuring a large map of the area, no one was entirely certain of how he was doing it but considering how Tamaki sometimes managed to get roses to appear from nowhere they weren't quite sure what to say. All of a sudden several large coloured pins erupted from the tip of the wooden instrument and speared into the paper.

"All of the red pins denote a murder we have been ordered to investigate, all of the green dots indicate the victim's address and the blue ones are _your_ addresses," he explained, "see any patterns?" he asked darkly.

Takashi felt a chill creep through his blood, all the murders took place within five miles of their homes, the ones where they themselves spent the most time. A split second later, more pins joined the picture.

"The yellows ones are sightings of the men and women you saw on the wall earlier, again, can anyone see the pattern?" he asked, knowing that at least someone would figure it out.

"Ouran, they've all been seen around Ouran!" Yuzuha exclaimed, her amber eyes widening as she jumped to her feet, concern for her sons suddenly ripping through her slender body with physical _force_.

"Correct," Harry agreed simply, and then vanished the map and pins, startling everyone and bringing their attention back to him. "No one knows when the society was formed, it has been around longer than organised religion in various forms, the earliest known civilisation was known as Atlantis, a myth some would believe but very much a reality to those of us with the clearance to know," he explained before flicking his stick at the table once again.

Only instead of paper or objects or even sparks appearing, no one expected the table to shrink and, of all things, a chicken to be clucking quite calmly on the floor in it's place.

Kyouya's sister screamed and fainted dead away into his eldest brother's arms.

Takashi stared at the chicken and then raised stunned slate grey eyes to the younger man who observed them, fresh cut emerald eyes now visible behind the glare of his glasses. And for once, Takashi did not quite feel fear, but a certain kind of foreboding.

"You are all being hunted by the Magical World's equivalent of Hitler's Inner Circle," he announced coolly.

A small riot broke out in the glass meeting room.

-

Kyouya was in a state of shock.

This.... explained so much.

The lack of information – the way everyone was so closed mouthed on the subject of Harry Potter – why they gushed and praised him while managing to say nothing at all.....

Magic....

A child's dream in fact a reality, hidden away from prying eyes, from hatred and fear an away from misuse and abuse. Away from people who would use it for their own benefit, people like Kyouya, he grudgingly admitted. If he had known about magic you could bet your Liver and left Kidney he would have found a way to use it to his advantage, just like he used everything and everyone to his advantage – while trying to avoid stepping on as many toes as possible.

This war.... it sounded....

Kyouya refrained from throwing up, so, how old was Shi- Potter-san when he was tortured for the first time?

-

Mitsukuni didn't know what to feel.

He felt so many things all at once that he wondered how he wasn't exploding from them all!

Guilt was most prevalent amongst them.

He had been unfair to Shika-chan, Harii-chan, whatever his name was. Very unfair and borderline rude. Knowing the truth suddenly put all of his actions, inactions and quirks and habits in such a light that he couldn't help but realise that.... after everything he and his friends had gone through, it was a miracle they were as well adjusted as they were!

Then it struck him.

Reiko-chan knew.

She was one of them, that was why she accepted Shik-Harii-chan's words without argument, why she seemed relieved, why she believed so whole heartedly in her Divination, because she knew they were true.

-

Haruhi was in a state of shock.

She knew her friend was different, she knew he was hiding, running from his past but to this extent? She wasn't... she didn't....

How was she supposed to treat him, knowing he was a War Hero? Knowing he had killed?

Knowing he was the reason they were being hunted now?

-

The drive back to the Morinozuka estate was silent and awkward.

The way they were being protected was a little confusing but they were assured it would work.

Their homes would be '_warded_' to ensure that no one without the expressed permission of the home owner could enter the property and even then when they held non-hostile intentions to those inside. While at school, one person would be with Takashi, another would be with Satoshi and someone would remain at home with their grandparents, because Takashi and Satoshi shared lessons with Mitsukuni and Yasuchika they would only have the one guard who would remain with their parents. One guard would be awake during the day and the other during the night. That way, they were protected at all times. Even the Ootori family had the same kind of protection and despite Sh- Harii-san's blatant scorn for her, Suou Megumi obtained a pair of guards as well and her son, Yuzuru, moved in with Tamaki into the second house to make things easier for the ATOC department, he would be working via phone and e-mail and remaining in the house while Tamaki attended school with Kyouya and his day protector. Takashi's parents had been advised to remain where they were, working abroad.

Kyouya was being guarded by Weasley Ginny during the day, the long haired spitfire who had quite cheerfully announced that her speciality was mass destruction and fire manipulation/explosives. There was just a slightly maniacal glint to her doe-brown eyes as she explained this, grinning toothily at Ootori Yoshio as she said so, making the business man break out into a cold sweat. Apparently she had picked up on his apparent scorn for women in positions in power. At night, they would be protected by a tall, extremely muscular man with amber eyes and dreadlocks who introduced himself as Zaraki and stated that he was a Werewolf, meaning his enhanced senses would be more useful at night.

Takashi... wasn't sure whether he should be slightly intimidated or pleased that his day guard would be Harii-san himself, Hermione would be handling night duty while a cheerful brunet by the name of Kenichi would be handling his younger brother.

Mitsukuni would be having Ron-san as his night and home guard, since Takashi always picked him up in the mornings and then brought him home, they saw no reason in assigning more than one guard to his home considering how his family were deciding to work from home.

All of their properties were now connected to something called the '_Floo_' which, as Harii had been pleased to explain, did not always involve an open fireplace, they just made it easier. In this case, a side cupboard had been '_enchanted_' to offer the same purpose.

Kimi-jiji coughed uncomfortably, "So, Harii-san, will you be rejoining Ouran as a student?" he asked curiously, Takashi had been wondering the same thing but had yet to actually formulate the question.

"No," the green eyed male refuted simply, "Were I to do so I would have to rejoin 2-A and leave both Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai unguarded. While they would be likely to survive an encounter with the Death Eaters I would rather not take the risk of them being harmed," it was cold and professional but the way those green eyes narrowed slightly protectively made something warm shift in Takashi's stomach.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. At least he would be with Harii-san in any case.

-

Returning to Ouran was a little surreal for Harry.

How long had he been absent from this school? How far behind on his studies to become a Doctor was he? Well that pursuit was all tits up now, he was back in the Law Enforcement and Killing business. Not the saving business.

The fact that he was no in the Ouran uniform, but in his work uniform garnered a lot more looks and gossip, especially the gun at his hip along with the classic Japanese Jutte hooked through his belt. It was a lot more useful than English truncheons or American night sticks. His wand was carefully concealed up a sleeve and he had god only knew how many other weapons about himself, he had no intention of allowing himself to be caught off guard, and he refused to allow either Takashi or Haninozuka-san feed the perversions of those _bastards_.

Standing at the back of the classroom, he listened to the lecture with half an ear as he kept his Magical senses open for any discrepancies or encroachments onto the Ouran Properties by any undesirables. So far it was only the usual Magical Suspects in their classrooms, he could sense his friends and their protectees – he had made a note of registering their spiritual imprints on his senses, thing that no one knew about Muggles was that they had magic, it was just sealed up tighter than a nun's lingerie draw.

The day passed quietly enough, he used charms every now and again to surreptitiously check his classmates and their food and even the cooks for anything malicious. So far nothing, just a very mild aphrodisiac that had been slipped into some chocolates a very timid little thing had offered Takashi before panicking at the disapproving look Harry gave her and promptly fled, taking the chocolates with her.

Come the Host Club later, he point blank _refused_ to have anything to do with their Cosplay, Ginny was well up for it and promptly decided to parade around dressed like a Turkish Princess – the outfit being something Kyouya had ordered for her in thanks for keeping an eye out for him, somehow, just a tiny bit, Harry got the feeling that Kyouya's gesture was a little bit more than just gratitude. But that could be him just reading the just-shy-of-lecherous glances he kept giving the red head wrong. Of course.

"You're not joining in, Shika-chan?" Haninozuka-san chirped curiously, the younger blond had been desperately trying to include Harry in all of his activities, being overly nice and kind to him and very sensitive to his personal space at the same time. Harry knew it was just his way of apologising for being such a Heel earlier, for whatever reason he refused to disclose, but he should just say sorry and carry on about his business.

"No," the dark haired male refuted, eyeing the clothing everyone was wearing, it was nice, extremely good quality and if he was perfectly honest with himself he loved the way it looked, he liked almost anything relating to different cultures. But in this case, he had to remain as unencumbered as possible, and this uniform was charmed spell proof and impact proof. "Maybe another time H-Mitsukuni-san," he corrected himself, earlier Haninozuka had requested to be known by his given name.

The blond looked a little put out but nodded easily enough and the Host Club antics continued as usual.

It was all Harry could do to watch and not feel a hot blistering angry envy for them and their innocence.

-

That night, Takashi lay awake, his eyes staring at the ceiling, hyper aware of the other presence in his room.

Hermione was outside, reading in the study down the hall towards the main living room, Harry was sleeping in his room as it was the one in the middle of both his grandparent's and Satoshi's, meaning should there be a disturbance in either room he would be able to get to either of them in the same amount of time.

Still, he had never shared a room with anyone and even though Harry didn't snore he was acutely aware of every breath the younger teenager took and the sound of his bedding shifting and he fidgeted a little to get comfortable on the futon.

He blew a breath out softly, rolling over and freezing, he hadn't pulled the curtains shut completely...

His mouth went dry and his heart gave a particularly hard _thud_ in his chest as that uncomfortable yet thrilling flutter of excitement blossomed to life in his stomach again.

Skin.

Pale, smooth skin, luminescent in the moonlight, white and almost glowing, flawless. Takashi tried to swallow past his dry throat as he studied the tangled up figure with wide slate grey eyes, suddenly feeling not at all tired, Harii-san was for once, sleeping peacefully on his futon, sprawled out with a kind of lazy grace in his tangled bedsheets, a single long pale leg and petite foot not covered by the blankets that seemed to tangle under his head and shoulders, around and over his waist and one arm. Head arched back gently on his pillow, pale chapped lips partially open, he was no '_Bishounen_', his features, while pretty, held just a little too much sharpness to them, a little too predatory, his long white throat arched up exposed to the moon, loose black hair brushing his revealed collarbone and neck, curling around his face and spilling over his pillow.

Takashi swallowed again, he needed a cold shower. Now.

Harry slept on, oblivious.

-

Sitting up in the Fujioka's living room, Luna giggled softly to herself. Blue eyes glazed with foresight.

-

**(1)Women and foreigners in Japan:** They aren't given the same respect as in Western Cultures. As both a foreigner and a woman, I was once refused service in Japan, it was a little irritating but that was their policy so I accepted it. The closest example I can garner would be the Wizarding World's preference to Purebloods (Japanese men) over half bloods (Japanese woman), foreigners (Muggleborns) and foreign women (muggles).

**(2) Suou Megumi:** No name has been given for Tamaki's Grandmother, and Megumi – to the best of my knowledge – means Goddess. Considering how highly the woman thinks of herself, I thought it would be appropriate to give her a name that slightly inflated her ego.

-

**I'm really sorry for the huge wait on this chapter but my inspiration died a quiet death. It required some DAMN GOOD tunes and about three hours on a bus for me to come up with this. Ergo, we have our Crowbar and mallet and I will **somehow** get some Takashi/Harry lovin' in there. SOMEHOW!!! **

Also, for those not in the know: I have a Facebook page. Drop me a line, I have the link on my FFnet Bio. 8)

-

**Future Story:**

**Ignition**: _One Piece/Harry Potter crossover_. Magic is unpredictable at best, chaotic at worst – no one could have predicted the backlash of magic in the Second Task when Harry attempted to use something more complex than a '_Relashio_'. No one could have known what would happen, or where Harry would end up. Four years after his disappearance, Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Cat Thief Nami and Usopp rescue a man lost at sea who has no memory of life before he awoke on a beach in the Grand Line.

**This is a story that people who have watched One Piece can read and one for those who haven't seen it and don't mind spoilers. Because there are spoilers in this. Quite early on as well. **

**Pairing is: **Zoro/Harry, Luffy/Hancock, _possible_ Paulie/Nami (for some reason I kinda like it.)

-

**_THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS PLEASE!!!_**


	24. Chapter 24

**Before I get started,** I just wanted to share this flamer with you; I personally found it hilarious so I just really wanted to share with you guys. _**Mad Flamer**_** you are now forever immortalised in a story you hate by an author who finds you more funny than insulting. Ouch, that's gotta hurt. XDD**

Mad Flamer: Jesus, you have some how managed to transform Harry into a friggin Woobie. I'm not saying its a bad thing, but the way you're going about it just epic fails! Disgusting. And the OCs that you add on the side 'just so side characters don't get lonely' make me want to stab myself with a fork. After reading walls and walls of text, describing what said OCs are wearing, I drew a horrifying comparison with _My Immortal_. And the way you canon raped Harry makes me think you should have just created an OC to take his place, seeing as you made him into an Angst!Canon!Sue. Your writing sucks, jump off a bridge, and have a nice day!

**All I have to say is: If you didn't want to read an angsty story, why did you click to read something that has as many warnings as I have posted? Also, if you wanted Canon, stop reading FANFICTION. As for Angst-Canon-Sue? Aww, aren't you cute? Try reading further than the sixth chapter before throwing big words around. If I sound insultingly patronising, it's because I am. XD Silly rabbit. **

**Also, why does no one ever sign in to Flame? (sigh) whatever happened to standing up for your beliefs and being proud of them? Sticking to your guns and all that jazz? XDD**

_Anyway! Five minute lol is over with. On with the fic!! _

-

**Black Birds**

-

Living with Shi-Harry, Hermione and Kenichi was different, but Takashi was getting used to it, slowly.

Harry had fallen back into nightmares now that he didn't have the other DA survivors to support him, but the Silencing Charms he placed over himself and his bed ensured that he didn't disturb anyone – even if Takashi was severely spooked to see him thrashing around in the grips of a more violent one but not hear anything when it was quite obvious he was screaming himself hoarse.

Hermione tended to sleep for most of the day, but she was aware in time for dinner which was the beginning of her shift, at which point she would always check the wards – like Harry did in the mornings – and then sit in the living room reading about something or other. Occasionally Harry would join her and the two would get into very heated debates about something or other, Takashi tended to avoid those confrontations in case he gave away his little crush on the green eyed teenager. He was rather attractive when he was angry like that.

Kenichi was rarely present in the house, he was Satoshi's guard while at school so at best Takashi only saw him during the drive to and from school, and occasionally he would show up in the evening and give the other two updates, ruffle Satoshi's hair and then leave.

But on the other hand, the eldest of the Morinozuka brothers had learned some things about his crush that he couldn't help but feel a trifle smug about. Like for one, animals seemed to like him almost as much as they liked Takashi himself, surprisingly, Harry could even speak to Piyo-chan a little. The younger male had never actually seen any other countries apart from Japan and a few locations in Europe where he went on business and had little time for sight seeing – yet despite that he had a strong desire to see the rest of the world and liked other cultures. He liked milk chocolate and long showers – _not _that Takashi timed him or anything, it was just hard not to miss him vanishing for roughly an hour into the bathroom. He had an intense hatred of rats, not fear or revulsion – though there was revulsion as well – but a genuine _hatred_ of the animals, one Takashi didn't quite understand and judging by the reactions of both Harry _and_ Hermione, he would probably not want to know. He hated politics, manipulation and he absolutely abhorred the idea of anyone manipulating himself or his friends, he actually _growled_ at Mitsukuni when the blond suggested it to get Tamaki to realise his feelings for Haruhi. He didn't suggest it again.

For the most part, the only problem the two of them had butted heads over was surprisingly Harry's health.

Takashi had noticed earlier in the year that '_Shikamaru_' didn't eat much; Kyouya had confirmed that his classmate's medical file included a note to watch his eating as he was clinically anorexic. But they had noticed that he _did_ eat, a fair amount as well. This pretty much laid to rest any concerns they had regarding his health, though the lingering question remained regarding just _how _he became anorexic in the first place. But now, with the new problems regarding these _Death Eaters_, apparently Harry had fallen back into bad habits. Like not eating.

There were many little things that Takashi had noticed about his crush that he found both adorable, maddeningly seductive and worrying to the point of triggering his over-protective reflex on the same level that Haruhi and the twins tended to. Mitsukuni and Satoshi could take care of themselves, he would only step in if it was needed – quite often, it was not. And that was why he found himself in a bit of conundrum. Shi-_Harry_ obviously did not need his help, but at the same time, he did, he was an exercise in opposites and in headaches so Takashi decided to just step back and wait until he saw something he could help with – or until the younger teenager asked. He did not seem the type to be too prideful not to ask for help when he needed to.

At least things at Ouran had calmed down in the few days it had been since Harry began to escort him and Mitsukuni to each class and to the Host Club's after-events.

The seventeen-year-old (_And really, shouldn't he be eighteen by this point?_ Takashi wondered.) had his own desk at the back of the room with a chair, he spent most of his time there either listening to the lesson with half an ear, looking vaguely interested or reading one of his Magic Books or filling in paperwork. Takashi had yet to return to the Nippon Mahou Shou's Anti Terrorism and Organised Crime Division's offices, but he would have very much liked to see their training rooms, he recalled the way some of the people in the halls were discussing in very hushed voices – the name '_Akegata-sensei_' catching on his ears just the once. Was Harry a teacher there was well as an operative?

Perhaps he should ask for a sparring match? He knew Satoshi and Yasuchika were teaching him hand to hand, Satoshi had mentioned that Harry was capable of throwing them across the room as though they weighed nothing at all, that was quite a feat for a partially trained teenager.

Mmm, he should stop thinking on the English teenager and concentrate more on his Classic Literature Class; it would be disrespectful to ignore the teacher's efforts to educate them.

Focusing on the character analysis of Bram Stoker's Dracula the lesson seemed to pass-by rather more quickly than usual and it seemed almost as though a bare few moments had passed since he put pen to paper when the end of class bell rang. Packing up his equipment, he bent down to allow Mitsukuni to clamber onto his shoulders, Harry stood by the door with that familiar sharp eyed look as he studied the two of them for any problems and then the corridor around them for threats. Takashi was getting used to that look, but it still made an ever so slight imperceptible shiver run down his spine when those eyes swept over him.

He had it bad.

Reaching the Third Floor Music room, the two Hosts – now used to the routine – stepped back and allowed Harry to enter the room first, those sharp eyes sweeping across the room even as a subtle flick of his hand, wand hidden up his sleeve, confirmed what his eyes had already told him. The room was safe, that done, he entered fully and allowed the two Seniors to come in fully.

The theme was supposed to be Russia today, but it seemed as though Kyouya had changed his mind, and... Not for the better in Takashi's opinion.

True, the roles assigned to them fit quite well, save for Kyouya's himself, but they weren't quite what one would have expected of the '_Classic_' Host Club antics.

Sitting in the back corner with the rest of the '_Guard Duty_', Ginny for Kyouya and Tamaki – during the day, Luna for Haruhi and Neville for the twins, Harry accepted the cup of tea the pixie-blonde had poured for him.

"How are things in the Morinozuka estate?" Ginny asked, lazily making a smilie face on the varnished wood of the table by dipping her finger in her tea. She looked bored stiff.

Harry rolled a shoulder, "As well as can be expected," he admitted softly, "Morinozuka-san's father will be returning from his business trip soon, his mother has opted to remain and continue to oversee matters abroad. Apparently, he is interested in meeting me for some reason," and if that had not put alarm flags up in Harry's mind then the fact that Satoshi's poor and entirely _un_subtle attempts at matchmaking Harry with Takashi had been noticed by the dark haired male's family. His Grandfather in particular seemed to be entirely approving of the idea; he had even joined in though he was far more subtle than his grandson.

The problem here was....

It was _working_.

And that was what frightened Harry the most, it was working, he was becoming too emotionally attached to the quiet Senior and that was _dangerous_. For both of them.

Luna giggled, winking at him knowingly, "It will all work out in the end, Duster, I promise," she swore, using his Marauder nickname to expound upon just how certain she was of this. He opened his mouth to protest – more out of sheer desperation than disbelief, she had never been wrong yet but, '_work out in the end_'? But he _couldn't_! It wouldn't, it _can't_, not with his Aphephobia! "Calm down and eat a biscuit," the blonde declared breezily, shoving a bourbon biscuit into his mouth before he could form any words.

From that point on it was either die via a delicious chocolately death, or eat the damn thing and drink his tea.

Tempted though he was by the former, he ate the damn biscuit.

Molly would cry if he died. Chocolatey death or not.

-

Jealousy was an ugly thing, Harry decided glaring at the school building opposite him.

And, while it may have seemed petty and horrid to be jealous of them, he couldn't help it, he was. Just watching the Host Club interact, trying to solve the mystery of the Garden Club's Treasure Map brought up memories of Hogwarts, of three children more curious than a bag of kneazles and thrice as troublesome. It _hurt_. The memories, they crawled up his throat and threatened to burst out, like some monster that raged and pounded against his chest. He took a deep breath and he swallowed it back, like an internal organ, big and hot and thick, he forced it back down until it was heavy in his stomach and then he forced it down further, until he was walking on it, and then stomped it into nothing.

Jealousy was an ugly thing.

He should be happy that they were able to live their childhoods, just watching them, their happiness, their joy, while prompting such blistering envy that he may as well don a Slytherin uniform and dye his hair acid green, filled him with happiness as well. And an unwavering, iron-clad determination to make sure that such innocence was never destroyed, never broken or soiled in the same way his and everyone else's was.

Takashi pretended not to see the bitter look of envy and sadness on the younger teenager's face when he looked up briefly after reading the map.

But now, now he had to stand there and keep watch as the boys took a bath in their new Hot Spring after working hard to dig it up. He had no interest in joining them, he hated wondering around with wet hair and so only bathed in the evening when he could go straight to bed and let his hair dry naturally – fuck what Hikaru said about it damaging his hair, he didn't give a flying Hippogriff turd.

That did not, however, prevent Ginny from shamelessly oggling them from her vantage point beside him atop the dug out pile of dirt, clay and rock. Luna was only marginally better in that she alternated from chatting with Neville, who likewise ignored the baths, and oggling Hikaru who was hiding in the water with his knees drawn up to his chest to avoid her eyes and looking sorry for himself after his little incident with Tamaki while putting the spades away.

"Ginny, let them bathe in peace," Harry finally broke in, exasperated with her behaviour. Truly, even though he couldn't see he didn't doubt that a number of the boys were uncomfortable with her voyeuristic tenancies – Kyouya not included. Bastard seemed capable of parading around naked and still somehow acting more dignified than the majority of the people who frequented Ouran Academy.

"Aw, you're no fun Harry," the red head complained pouting at him, "Dude, you really need to get laid or something."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Physically impossible, Love," he reminded her. "And no way in hell," he added as an almost after thought. He had no desire to inflict that on himself again, or on another person, intellectually he knew that real sexual intercourse was supposed to be pleasurable for both participants but... how could _that_ be pleasurable? Ron and Hermione seemed to enjoy it well enough but they were different! They were..... Cheesy as it sounded, they were made for each other, of course it was going to feel good for people like that.

Luna laughed, "You'll find someone, Harry," she told him lightly, hugging his arm and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "He might be closer than you think as well!" she chirped mischievously and _god damn you heart, stop fluttering like that immediately!_ Harry merely grunted in disgust at the concept of him eventually finding someone to settle down with.

That said and done, the blonde haired girl giggled and swung the dark haired male around by his arm, "L-Luna!!?" he squeaked as inertia took over and she released him, sending him careening into the new Hot Spring face first, fully clothed.

Ginny burst out laughing while the rest of the boys were torn between laughter and helping him up again, hair matted and plastered to his face and with his glasses missing, his uniform sticking to his skin and hanging from his body – practically swallowing him, Harry looked rather like a drowned kitten in the young red head's opinion. She wasn't the only one to think so as Takashi fished out the younger teen's glasses as he roughly wiped black hair from his eyes and growled at the blonde haired girl as she giggled and smiled so sweetly it should have been criminal.

Snatching his glasses from Takashi's hand, Harry jammed them back on his face and unstuck his clothes from his skin with a look of unhappy disgust before glancing around at the Senior, and thanking every deity above that his face was already red from the temperature of the water because holy fucking hell who knew the Japanese teenager was built like _that!_

Arching an eyebrow at him, Harry carefully concealed his reaction with a grateful nod and climbed out of the water, unaware of the eighteen year old's own eyes clinging to his rear end just as much as his wet slacks were.

Neville, Ginny and Luna however were more than aware, as was Kaoru and Kyouya.

The two younger Hosts exchanged glances and raised eyebrows.

Well, this was new.

-

Dinner that night was a quiet affair.

Satoshi was feeling a little unwell from one of his strange food combinations, apparently even his cast iron stomach could suffer from something. Kimihiro was pondering, his eldest son Akira(1) would be returning soon and he would want to meet Harry and know as much about him as possible, especially after the off handed comment Mitsukuni's father made about Takashi's crush, having overheard his devilish little son chatting on the phone about it. Airi was just happy in the silence, smiling absently as she ate her rice. Hermione was unusually tired and pale as she picked at her food, her eyes duller than usual and her movements sluggish, she yawned occasionally before screwing her eyes shut and blinking rapidly, sitting upright as if the better posture would keep her awake longer.

Hermione wasn't the only one who was half awake. It seemed as though Harry's lack of sleep was catching up with him again, he almost nodded off in the middle of his food before shaking himself and bowing out before really did pass out at the table.

By the time Takashi had finished his homework, put his things away, taken a bath and popped his contact lenses out, Harry was already deep asleep curled up in a tight ball under his blankets with half of his pillow clutched in a death grip. The Senior smiled softly and gently tugged a corner of the other male's blankets up to cover his exposed shoulder, he had noticed that the scarred tissue bothered him in the cold weather. The British teenager didn't even stir.

And he wouldn't stir until three am, when the wards shuddered and fell.

-

Takashi had been having a very good dream, simple and sweet he imagined that the Hosts were happy and things were the way they had always been.

Hikaru still retained his black hair and stood beside his younger brother, Kasanoda Ritsu stood arm in arm with Haruhi blushing nervously but smiling at her as though she meant the world to him, which to anyone with eyes knew she really did. He could see Luna and Ginny and Neville amidst the group, the scar on Neville's face was gone, the skin of Luna's arms flawless and pale, her hands whole with no missing fingers. Ginny wore her hair loose and for once stood in a pale yellow sundress and smiled from where she was with her arms wrapped around Kyouya's waist; the once cool Ootori was completely relaxed and comfortable in her embrace.

Everyone was happy and healthy and whole and he had been looking for Harry who was at the back of the group with Ron and Hermione, he could hear him laughing and then someone was shaking him awake.

Slate grey eyes snapped open, pupils instantly adapting to the darkness of his room as he made out the fuzzy unfocused form younger teenager crouched beside him, a hand pressed against his shoulder and a finger against his lips demanding silence.

Distantly, he could hear the sound of movement from down the hall.

He frowned slightly, the movements were too brusque to be Hermione, she was usually very nearly silent when moving around the house, the only sounds that followed her was the faint whispery grinding of her wooden finger joints rubbing against one another. He twitched ever so slightly as his glasses were suddenly shoved into his line of sight; slipping them onto his face he finally got a proper look at the younger teenager's face. He was anxious, chewing his lower lip, pale and _almost_ on the verge of tears – but that couldn't be right, Harry _never_ looked as though he were about to cry.

Takashi froze as the smaller male leaned in close, his scent hitting him hard, he smelt of sleep and mint shampoo, of wood polish, paint and a faint musky note that was quite obviously male, his breath was hot against the Morinozuka's ear and for a split second his heart froze. What on earth – ?

"_Someone's broken in_," Harry breathed his voice very quiet, ah, so that was... hm, Takashi thanked the Kamis that the room was dark and his slightly flustered and embarrassed blush could not be seen, "_The Wards are down and I want you to stay _in here _while I go and check it out. If they've gotten past Hermione, they'll be good. This is a Portkey, get your brother and your grandparents and have them touch this and say the word '_safety'_ it'll transport you to the Anti-Terrorism offices. You'll be safe there,_" he explained before pulling away.

Hermione... Takashi felt his blood go cold, there was no way she would allow just anyone into the house, if they had gotten past her... she was either unconscious or dead – no wonder Harry looked the way he did, she was his sister in all but blood.

Getting to his feet, Harry slipped out of the other male's room, hyperaware of Takashi's eyes following him. Silently, he hoped it wouldn't be the last time he spoke to the other male.

-

When facing Death Eaters, one always had to think first of the **Golden Rule**.

Kill them before they can kill you.

The best way of this was to kill them before they even knew you were _there_, this was a skill that had served the Defence Association and those they trained very well. Other people scorned it, claimed it was cowardly and dishonourable, Harry said it was survival, people could knock it as much as they liked, but the fact of the matter was that his people had survived with the lowest mortality rate of all the groups fighting the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, they were also the smallest group to begin with so the number was not all that impressive in the long run.

Slinking through the shadows silently, he gently shooed Pome-chan into the bathroom where she wouldn't be getting underfoot or possibly injured during the Spell fire. He didn't know where Piyo-chan was but he certainly hoped that whomever was raiding the dining room didn't get it into their heads to have a roast chicken while they were here. Tentatively, Harry decided the intruder was male, he was taller than most women and broader, what little the green eyed teenager could see of the hands suggested that he was male as well. And –

Oh, _Shit!_ He was coming this way!

Looking around in panic, he craned his head upward and jumped, hands latching onto the expensive but strong oak beams that ran across the ceiling, Sticking Charms on his hands holding him there as the stranger moved through the house and then under him.

He wore a long black cloak of good quality Acromantula silk that went from hood to ankle, though it had probably seen better days, his face was hidden with a fairly powerful obscuring charm. He had his wand in his hand.

Harry stiffened as Takashi's bedroom door slid open.

Oh gods, _no._

-

Nakamura Hiroshi was a very desperate man.

His business was in the toilet, the Goblins were knocking on his door regarding outstanding debts, his wife was having an affair, his daughter hated his guts and his son had vanished, hunting fame and glory as a Tomb Raider on behalf of Gringotts.

He panicked, he got desperate, he forced his daughter into an engagement she didn't want to get the financial backing to pay off his debts – he had all but _sold_ her to his business partner, the only good point there was that his son was a perfect gentleman and would never treat his little girl poorly. She would have the life he could never afford to give her.

But the debts were still too big. Still too much.

He was a Wizard.

He had never told his wife of his magical talents, she was a muggle who had very little patience for wishy-washy fantasy stuff, his daughter had never developed any talent but he had seen early on that his son had inherited it. He enrolled the boy in a Private School to cater to his talents, all the while passing it off as training to take over the company. The company that went bankrupt last year.

He was a Wizard, he had failed the majority of his exams, but his Charms grade had been considered one of the highest scores in the Country.

So he turned to his skill in Charms to save him.

He used them to break into the houses of rich muggles, steal their belongings, and then conjure exact replicas – only a Goblin would be able to tell the difference between his conjurations and the real thing. Well. Goblins and that damnable muggle boy who caught him trying to sell those Conjurations to a gullible old muggle woman with more money than common sense(2).

He never realised the next property he targeted had some very light wards, wards designed to trigger and fall when anyone of magical origin passed them without being keyed in.

He never realised this carelessness would get him killed.

-

Harry felt his blood turn to ice as the eighteen year old muggle stepped out of his bedroom door, sharpened Katana in hand startling the intruder who lifted his wand to attack.

Snapping Harry into action.

Nakamura Hiroshi never saw what killed him or who.

Morinozuka Takashi did.

And he didn't think he was ever going to be able to forget.

Harry was fast, and he was silent. He was falling from the ceiling before the intruder had even fully raised his arm, and ripping a blade across the tender flesh of his throat before he could even form an incantation.

Slate grey eyes widened, watching in horror as thick red blood burst from the torn skin, falling like a curtain down the man's front and painting Harry's arm crimson in the darkness.

His body hit the ground with a very final thump. And all the eighteen year old could do was stare into sharp green-green eyes.

"I told you," Harry began, his voice hoarse with adrenalin and fear, "I _told_ you, to _stay in your __**room**__!_" he snarled, throwing the knife aside as Kimihiro and Airi peered out of their bedroom, paling dramatically at the sight of the corpse. Takashi didn't reply, what could he say? There was a moment of pregnant silence before the smaller male sighed softly, almost in defeat, "Are you hurt?" he asked quietly.

"No," the Japanese teenager assured him, "Are you?"

Harry didn't reply as he turned away, glancing apologetically at Airi for the mess on her floor, she waved him off and quickly caught Satoshi before the fourteen year old could see the dead body and ushered him back into his room as the long haired teenager stalked down the hall.

Takashi stared after him for a moment before looking to his Grandfather who was staring at the body with an unpleasant look on his face. Glancing down at the katana in his hand, the Wild Type Host decided it would be better to put it back in its sheath and stand before his grandfather saw it.

"You should go after him," the old man told him as he stood in the door way, for once looking his actual age – if not older. "He shouldn't be alone right now."

"Aa," Takashi agreed, the idea that Hermione might be dead because of that man worried him, Harry's reaction... even if he had killed the one responsible would... her death would destroy him.

He found the dark haired male in the lounge, he was kneeling beside Hermione's body, she was sprawled out across the couch as though she were half standing upon her death, her eyes were closed and a book of Magical History was on the floor face down, it's pages bent. She must have dropped it when she fell.

Harry's eyes were glazed in horror as he stared up at her body. Something in Takashi's stomach twisted and he couldn't help but drop a comforting hand onto the kneeling figure's shoulder, he expected the flinch, but he did not expect the small bloody hand that clamped over his own and held him there, smearing blood over him. He didn't care.

Harry was crying.

Looking away from the other male as he broke down, Takashi found himself staring at Hermione, eyes tracing her face and her curly hair. She looked so... young. She was the same age as Tamaki or Kyouya and yet she was so strong, she seemed older somehow, it may have been the scars or the look in her eyes but now... now she looked _young_ and tired.

"How do I tell the others? How do I tell _Ron_?" the green eyed teenager whispered brokenly, shuddering under Takashi's hand.

Honestly, the Morinozuka didn't know, he simply tightened his grip on Harry's shoulder before freezing, his eyes lingering on a small strand of hair that had slipped and fallen in front of the young girl's face. How it blew out and then back in as _she breathed!!_

"She is alive," he blurted out, nudging on Harry's shoulder as he stared at the girl's body. Harry's head snapped up as he roughly wiped his eyes and stared at him before looking at her desperately, and seeing the moving strand of hair.

His eyes widened.

"_Stunning spell_," he breathed. Takashi leaned back as the smaller teenager scrambled past him in the confined space between the sofa and the coffee table, flicking his wand out and tapping the girl's forehead, "_Enervate_," and watching as her eyes flickered open.

The smiles of relief that broke out on their faces only brought a look of confusion from the girl before Harry was flinging his arms around her shoulders.

Right before she shoved him aside and threw up across the floor.

Takashi scooted backwards in alarm; did Stunned people usually throw up like that upon awakening? Judging by the look of borderline panic on Harry's face as she continued to heave up last night's meal until all she could do was retch and occasionally spit up some bile, he doubted it.

Hm, they were going to have to replace that carpet now. Or at least, that's what he thought until Harry flicked his wand and vanished the mess as though it had never even been there, taking with it the foul scent before it could stick to the carpets.

It was at this point that the house was promptly flooded by operatives of the Anti-Terrorism and Organised Crime Division, coupled with a few people from the Coroner's office and the Healer's wing – apparently they were well versed in Harry's '_First Strike Kill_' tactics. Takashi sat back on one of the arm chairs, suddenly feeling very tired as people rushed around him, he could see the body of the intruder being floated out of the house wrapped up in a rubber sheet, Satoshi and his Grandparents were answering questions while Harry had the Healers examining a surly and tired looking Hermione.

He frowned slightly when he saw the look on Harry's face when they were scanning her. Getting to his feet, he swiftly made his way over to the knot of Medical Professionals – and yes he included Harry in that, he was quite good at Healing according to Neville.

"What is it?" he asked in concern as Harry stared at his bestfriend, a look of concern and slight fear beginning to darken her features.

"I... I don't know how to tell you this, Granger-san," the healer began slowly, "It should be physically impossible given your physical status but..."

"Spit it out already!" the anxious woman snapped.

"Mione," Harry began, staring at her as his face slowly began to break into a grin, one that stretched from ear to ear.

"You're pregnant."

-

**(1) Akira vs Itsuki** – When I first wrote about Takashi's family, it was unknown; we'd never seen any of them apart from Satoshi. Recently, I have discovered that Takashi's father is called Akira. I will be going back through the previous chapters and correcting myself when I have some spare time. 8)

**(2) Damn Muggle boy and Conjurations** – Kyouya and the fake Vases during the incident where he and Haruhi ended up wondering around a mall for a chapter. Kyouya prevented an old woman from buying some fakes at an exorbitant price. He passed it off as simply looking good for the wife of a prominent business man he could use in the future but Haruhi noticed that at the time when he stepped in, he had no idea who she was. I thought it would be interesting to tie it into the story.

-

**Yup. Hermione is now infested with the worst and most common of STIs and human parasites. **

**A Baby.**

**XDD I worked extra hard on this chapter, mainly just for that last scene and the tiny bits of Takashi/Harry I could crowbar in there. Next chapter should be the Ski Trip and the solution to a long standing problem of Harry's. (And before anyone poo-poos me regarding said solution, it worked for me when I had similar problems.)**

Araceil.

**Ah yes, as for the early update.... I just wanted to share this with you ASAP 8D**


	25. Chapter 25

**Black Birds**

**Ignition has also been posted.**

-

"You're pregnant," the green eyed Wizard told her, a bright grin stretching across his face.

Takashi didn't think he had ever seen Harry so happy since he first met him, there were times when he seemed to shed the melancholy and cheer up, but this was the first time when _everything_ had just fallen away. Leaving nothing but joy. He looked...

"W-what?" Hermione breathed her brown eyes wide and disbelieving as moisture began to gather at the corners, her flesh and blood hand pressing against her abdomen. "I-I'm... how? No, you're joking," she croaked, her voice breaking as those tears finally spilled and ran down her cheeks, "I can't be, the Infertility Curse Parkinson hit me with... It _destroyed_ my Ovaries, I can't be... I can't be," she whispered, shaking her head and sobbing.

Harry hugged her tightly, small hands running through her hair soothingly as she soaked his shoulder, "But you are," he told her, "We checked twice. You're pregnant Hermione. A little girl. A daughter."

Hermione only cried harder, the dark haired male rocking her back and forth as she clung to him, paying no mind to his bloody clothes and skin.

-

Ron was absolutely beside himself as he ran down the corridor of the Morinozuka residence, having just burst out of their Floo Cupboard.

A phone call from Hitsugaya-taicho had informed him of a break in at the Senior's residence and his heart had immediately lunged up his throat and settled quite uncomfortably at the back of his mouth, making it difficult to breathe as he barged into the main sitting room where the most people were. His blind eyes desperately seeking out the Magical Aura of his girlfriend.

"Where is she?" he demanded, not being able to find her through all the Auras of the Healers, the Coroners, officers and other people present.

"Sleeping," Akira informed him, the Vampyre had the most unique Magical Aura Ron had ever lain eyes on, at first it seemed calm but then he looked closer and saw the violently shifting currents within him. It would have worried anyone but Ron, Harry had a very similar Aura but much more visibly disturbed, Kai's was two different shades, one calm and soothing the other violent and restless denoting his split personality. Kenichi's was perfectly calm and smooth, almost liquid like, or incense smoke rising through the air – and that was what worried him. The former Street rat was perfectly calm, perfectly at ease... to him... killing was as much of a non-issue as scratching his arse, he didn't even bat an eye at it. "She had a bit of a shock earlier; it took a while for her to calm down."

"Shock? What shock? Is she alright?" the youngest of the Weasley sons demanded, panic beginning to thrum through him.

Akira arched an eyebrow at him, "Calm yourself Weasley-san," he admonished coolly, "She will tell you herself when she wakes up. I believe Harry-kun put her to bed in his Futon, down that hall fifth door on the left, do try to keep it down, and do not wake her. She needs rest," the Vampyre warned, narrowing his amber and black eyes at the young stripling in front of him.

Ron nodded gratefully, about to run off before another thought struck him, "Where's Harry?"

Akira smirked at this, "Bathing," he informed the younger man; neglecting to add the fact that he had been forced to share the bathroom with the grey eyed Morinozuka who attended Ouran. Akira's nose was very sensitive; he could practically _smell_ the desire coming from the taller male, and a much lesser, weaker interest from the smaller male. He knew his colleague, Harry would try to avoid that attraction for as long as possible, not realising the fact that he _could_ feel that attraction – especially for another man – after his experiences at the hands of the Death Eaters was a miracle and a sign of his steps toward recovery bearing fruit. Now. All they had to do was make it happen.

But he didn't tell that to Ron, he would see it himself in due time and take the appropriate steps for his bestfriend and younger brother.

Akira chuckled slightly as the red head jogged off down the indicated hall, no doubt he would be going to sit with his girlfriend and his unborn daughter. A small pang of jealousy stung him, his eyes flicking to the messy chocolate hair of their Street rat Parselmouth.

If only...

-

His hand still felt sticky.

Takashi stared at the slightly pink limb, focusing on his skin and the flex of muscle and tendon under the lightly tanned flesh – trying to focus on anything _but_ the sound of water hitting skin behind him as Harry used the shower.

He was beginning to be thankful that Harry often took baths while he was doing his homework instead of joining the rest of the family.

Still...

That scene played over and over and over again in his head, he remembered listening for any movement in the hall, feeling his heart sink when the heavy footsteps that most certainly weren't Harry's approached. What had happened? Was he hurt? Was he..._ dead_? Had this person done something to him? Anger had been thick and hot in his body and he hadn't even thought about it before his fingers were curling around the hilt of the Nodachi his father had bought for his fifteenth birthday – the blade sharp and never been used.

He had then stepped out of the room, intending on taking the head of the one who threatened his family and had destroyed two people he cared about.

He was of average height, broad shouldered, Takashi couldn't see his face from within the deep black hood, but he could see the length of wood he had in his hand, he could see the way the man jerked and lifted it to attack him. His hand tightened on the hilt of the Nodachi and a shadow fell from the ceiling, green flashed and suddenly a glint of silver heralded a burst of crimson, almost black within the dark. The intruder never saw it.

Takashi couldn't move his eyes from the thin figure his fallen body revealed, panting slightly, his eyes were wide but his pupils dilated, his arm painted in gore up to his elbow, the silver glint in his hand now slick with blood. And for a moment, Takashi didn't know if he should be relived or scared.

Then Harry threw the knife away and he suddenly seemed so tired, so young that the older Morinozuka felt guilty and sick to his stomach for feeling that ambivalent fear.

He refrained from twitching as the water shut off behind him, heart thudding painfully in his chest as he heard the wet footsteps pass behind him.

"I need to give my report to Akira," the other teenager explained, Takashi could hear the sound of a towel running across skin and had to physically refrain from smacking his head against the side of the bath to remove the mental images it conjured in his head. "I put Hermione to bed in our room so I'll sleep on the couch tonight," _'our'_ room, '_our_ _room_'. That time, he did shiver.

But the other teenager put it down to the cold air that swept in as he opened the door, glancing sadly at the taller male's back, he sighed silently and closed the door behind him. What was he expecting? Honestly, he just killed a man in front of him, tolerant though the Hosts were he severely doubted if the older Morinozuka wanted anything to do with a murderer.

Making his way down the hall, he poked his head into Takash- he supposed it would be Morinozuka-san's room now, and wasn't all that surprised to see Ron fast asleep and wrapped around Hermione. Pulling his head out, he smiled slightly and made his way to the sitting room – the Morinozuka residence had two different living rooms, a formal one at the front of the house where the ATOC were currently gathered, and a private family one where he was setting out some blankets for him to use when he had finished speaking with Akira.

He hoped they would catch the Death Eaters soon.

The quicker he cut all ties with Morinozuka-san entirely, the calmer he would feel.

-

Several hours later, Harry still hadn't slept and the sun was already flooding into the Living room where he was sleeping. Akira had told him everything. He hadn't tried hiding the truth and Harry supposed he was grateful for it.

The intruder had _not_ been a Death Eater, had _not_ been under _Imperio_.

It had been an ordinary poor sod looking for some quick cash by breaking into a rich muggle's home and stealing anything of value they could find. He had a wife. And a daughter. And a son. His name had been Hiroshi Nakamura. His ceramics business had been flushed down the toilet after he had been caught trying to sell a Conjured replica of an extremely expensive set of pottery by some rich Japanese guy.

Just an ordinary poor sod.

And he'd cut his throat open without a second thought.

Harry rolled over and dragged the pillow over his head, he was no better than Lestrange or Malfoy. Maybe he really was the second coming of a Dark Lord.

He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, repeatedly telling himself that he would never allow it to get that bad, he would kill himself before he became someone like them. Never. Never. Never. Never. Never. _Never. __**Never. **__**Never!**_ He wouldn't be one of them! He thumped his head on the futon beneath him repeatedly, he wasn't like them, he _wasn't_. He.... he didn't _enjoy_ killing others! He just... just... _stopped caring about it_.

Which was worse.

Oh gods... His stomach felt heavy and sick, his face and hands too hot, his eyes were sore and itchy. Hermione was pregnant, she was going to have a little girl, she was going to bring that innocent little life into a world full of monsters, where her Uncle was going to be one of those monsters!

"_Fuck_," he whispered miserably.

The first baby of the D.A., the first Cub, the only truly innocent one of the group. And Harry... It hit him like a ton of bricks, stealing the breath from his lungs and sending a wave of pins and needles down his body.

Harry would never be able to hold her.

His touch aversion... Aphephobia, he wouldn't be able to hold their Cub, play with her, feed her, bathe her, hug her, put her to sleep. He wouldn't be able to touch her because...

His lungs hurt; he sucked in a deep breath, panting slightly as he pulled the pillow off of his head.

He had nine-months. Nine months until she was born.

Ron had gotten over his spider phobia in less time, Neville was no longer frightened of Snape and Hermione – while not happy with them – was over her fear of heights. How did they do that? _Because they faced them head on_.

The Death Eaters locked Ron in a small dark room filled with nothing but spiders, hoping the psychological trauma would break him – it didn't, he steeled himself and he got over his fear, accepted it and now actually laughed over it, spiders weren't scary to him anymore. Neville had faced against Snape at the end of the war and Duelled him to a standstill, he threw aside his fear in favour of protecting the people he loved. They had all thought the other boy had killed their ex-Potion's Master with how violent that Duel had been. And Hermione... Hermione climbed on a broom and practiced aerial manoeuvres every day, just in case it was needed, and every time she went a little higher than she was comfortable with until she was floating at the same height as Harry.

If they could do it, so could he.

He just needed to tackle it head on, face his fear and deal with it(1). His skin crawled at the thought of actually touching people but... but... it _was necessary!_

He could do this. It would just... take a while.

-

Ron had known there was something wrong with Hermione's stomach for a week now.

Her magic swirled around it softly and smoothly, at first he thought she was just... y'know... having _that time of the month_ issues and left well enough alone. Then she began to throw up in the mornings and look more tired than ever, he assumed it was a stomach ache and got her one of the Indigestion Draughts, then a Constipation one. Nothing changed.

But to find out what he had _thought_ was just a particularly chunky turd was actually a _baby_, _**his**_ baby was... it was just...

He had to tell Mum, he had to tell Bill and Charlie and the twins and _Ginny!_ He had to tell everyone! _Hewasgoingtobea__**Dad**__!!!!_

He hugged everyone he passed, Takashi, Satoshi, he picked Airi up and spun her around, kissing both cheeks before practically dancing off to get some paper so he could send a message back home to England. Regardless of the grizzly events of last night, the red head's reaction to his encroaching fatherhood brought smiles and laughter to the faces of everyone in the house.

And, like the wonderfully clever and magnificent Post Owl she was, Hedwig showed up just as he was sealing the last of the envelopes to go back home. Her chest feathers puffing out proudly as she thrust her leg forward at him, well, with a request like that how could Ron say no?

Harry surfaced from the Living room just as Ron sent Hedwig off with the bundle of letters, he looked exhausted and the red head couldn't help but drag the smaller teen into a tight hug. No doubt Harry was hating himself, the guy he killed wasn't even a Death Eater, just a petty thief with delusions of standing.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, Akira had informed them the night before he would be taking over Hermione's Night Guard duties – she would be returning to England and living with Molly until things were safe.

Hermione wasn't happy but... this was possibly the only chance for a child she would ever have, her little girl was a Miracle already, she didn't want to put that at risk.

She was currently at the House packing her belongings, they would be Portkey'ed back to the Burrow and she would be getting a private flight back to England where Kingsley would be waiting with a Ministry Car to take her safely back to the Burrow.

Harry was going to miss her but... they both had their mobile numbers, house numbers, floo addresses and if all else failed, if it were an emergency, a Patronus could get there in a few hours or so.

Green eyes flickered to Takashi and Satoshi, both of them were studiously avoiding his gaze and he couldn't help the brief stab of betrayal and anger.

He made a mistake, he killed someone about to attack them, but... had the intruder been Bellatrix or Fenrir or Lucius... he would have saved their lives by cutting his throat.

Harry suddenly wasn't very hungry.

-

Takashi was being unfair, and he knew it.

Which only served to make him feel all the more guilty about it.

Knowing someone was capable of deadly force was something completely different to _seeing_ them use that deadly force, to see them take a life. He sighed softly, watching the curve of Harry's neck as he bent over a book on Warding – one of his weaker subjects and someone needed to bring the ones fell last night back up.

It was just... hard.

He knew on an intellectual level that Harry wasn't perfect, but, like his fangirls, he put the other boy on a bit of a pedestal only to watch him jump off it. He doubted his father would approve of Harry if he knew about this incident, but on the other hand, Chichiue was difficult to predict, he was a little like Ojiisama in that respect. For all Takashi knew, his father may really like Harry.

Still...

Hesitantly, unsure whether or not it was just general nervousness or embarrassment – it certainly wasn't fear – Takashi made his way to the small figure stood on the lawns. He could tell the exact moment when Harry became aware of his presence, his shoulders tightened and his head hunched down slightly as if expecting a blow. Takashi's stomach twisted.

Almost against his will a hand stretched out, fingers just brushing against the smaller male's shoulder.

"Sorry," he muttered before stepping back, suddenly feeling awkward and embarrassed. He wanted to say more but... he wasn't good with words, he didn't know _what_ to say.

Harry stared unseeingly at his book, had Morinozuka-san just...

"You don't need to apologise, Morinozuka-senpai," he finally said, before the Senior fled back into the house, "If anything... I should apologise for making you see such a thing," he whispered, fingers clenching on his book. "Sorry."

Takashi patted him on the head before he could stop himself, "You didn't know," he told the smaller teenager, "You protected us. Thank you."

Harry could feel his face heating up slightly, "Yeah, well," he muttered, embarrassed and avoiding eye contact, "Someone has to keep you idiots alive," he finally complained, cheeks pink.

Takashi couldn't help but smile as he made his way back into the house.

-

"Neenee, Tama-chan," Mitsukuni whimpered, staring with doe brown eyes at the King, "Are we really not allowed to go visit Haru-chan and them on the Snowy Mountain?" he asked, "You even said I could eat cake in the bath there!" he accused unhappily.

The first years were on a Ski-trip, leaving Kyouya, Ginny, Mitsukuni, Takashi, Harry, Kai and Tamaki to their own devices, right now they were visiting Tamaki in the second Suou Mansion. He was busy studying while Antoinette made a nuisance of herself – before clamouring at Takashi for some attention which the 'Wild' Type Host was only too pleased to give her. Harry was busy taking a quiet nap in one of the window seats, his head on Ginny's lap while the red head filled his hair with as many tiny little plaits as she could while the Hosts chatted amongst themselves, Kai was upstairs fast asleep in the Guest bedroom. Takashi occasionally glancing their way before looking away just as quickly, lips twitching slightly in amusement.

Kyouya sighed, paying the girl no mind as he propped his head up on an elbow, eyeing his bestfriend critically, "Tamaki, did something happen between you and Haruhi?" he asked flatly as this was the usual cause of the blond's unpredictable behaviour of late.

Tamaki pouted slightly, not looking up as he flipped through his book, "Not really, nothing," he admitted quietly, sounding almost disappointed.

"Then... _Hikaru_," Takashi decided firmly, grey eyes watching as the blond stiffened and shivered.

"Oh, so it's Hikaru," Kyouya sighed in realisation.

Ginny giggled slightly, threading her fingers through Harry's hair as she felt him shift, slowly waking up with all the ruckus taking place around them. The Typical Host Club Antics that had Tamaki lying on the floor in a flowing puddle of tears – that had to be some kind of illusion – before suddenly fitting and rolling around wailing about Haruhi and Hikaru and fatherhood.

All the while Takashi stood at the back of the group in slightly exasperated disbelief.

Had he ever been this dense about his feelings? No, no he hadn't.

Mitsukuni would have told him.

-

Harry glowered mutinously as he stared up at the snow covered mountain wrapped in a mountain of layers.

Takashi was finding it hard not to laugh at him. He looked like a giant green puff-ball under all that.

They had decided to go and join the rest of the Club up at the Ski Resort without Tamaki – at his insistence – but upon discovering that neither Harry or Ginny actually _had_ any snow gear, Kyouya and Mitsukuni had dragged the pair off to the nearest store where Ginny found herself being escorted by Kyouya to the women's section and Harry was dragged off into the men's by an exuberant Mitsukuni.

Ginny giggled at him in her yellow sweater and black jacket, her thick white trousers and fur lined white boots keeping her lovely and toasty, Harry however was a lot more susceptible to the cold than her because of how thin he was. He wore green, a lot of green, mainly because it was the only colour Harry would allow Mitsukuni to choose – he point blank turned down going near anything pink or pale purple like the little Host desired. Takashi merely stood back and watched in amusement, pleased that his cousin had laid his animosity to rest for the time being, at least attempting to make an effort to befriend Harry in any case.

Harry still hated snow, and cold. Hence why he was in his thick Weasley sweater, his Gryffindor Scarf, the black and green trimmed jacket and pale green trousers and black boots the smallest of the Hosts had picked out, a green bobble-hat with birds knitted onto it plonked on his head keeping his ears warm as he sulked in his seat.

He had been all for letting Hikaru, Tamaki and Haruhi stumble through the whole thing on their own.

But now they were on their way there and everyone was laughing at him because he was cold even though he was bundled up like a burrito. He huffed and shifted away from Mitsukuni's poking.

"I thought you were used to the cold, Harii-chan?" the blond asked sweetly(demonically), as he followed the green-clad male across the seats, poking him further.

"Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I like it," he grumbled and scooted back further until he was practically squished against whatever it was behind him, "And would you please stop poking me?" he demanded in exasperation.

Mitsukuni grinned happily, "Sure," he chirped bouncing back to his seat and making Harry frown. What on... oh.

He sighed and glowered at the blond, "You're about as subtle as Satoshi," he pointed out before scooching away from where he had been practically sitting on Takashi – who was now rather pink and avoiding everyone's eyes.

-

"Have you asked him yet?" Mitsukuni asked softly, the sound of running water drowning out their conversation quite affectively. Takashi blinked at him, "Have you asked Harii-chan out on a date yet? Like you said you would if you lost the Sports competition," the blond reminded him, glancing over his shoulder to the subject of their conversation.

The Hotel's outdoor baths were quite large and steamy; as Ginny was the only girl in their group, she was taking a bath in the Hotel room while Harry had to join them. As of right now, Mitsukuni and Takashi were soaking while Harry and Kyouya chatted quietly and washed.

"No," the Morinozuka admitted, a little shame-faced for not fulfilling his side of the bet, it was hardly honourable but at the same time, he didn't want to scare Harry to the point where his duty to protect him became uncomfortable.

Mitsukuni must have noticed his discomfort because he hummed and nudged him slightly with a knee, "I don't think you should, not yet anyway," the blond admitted quietly, glancing over again and smiling slightly when he saw Harry hesitantly offer to wash Kyouya's back. "He's trying to get over it, really trying, but he's not ready to hear something like that I don't think."

"_Aa_," the dark haired male admitted, glancing over his shoulder to witness it as well along with Harry's reasoning of '_Ginny likes you so I may as well get used to having another brother_'.

It would take a long time, but Harry would get there, he would get over it.

Eventually.

-

**(1) BEFORE ANYONE GETS ALL OVER MY TITS REGARDING THIS: READ!!!**

This is a little bit of personal history of mine. This is why I made Harry as bad as he is.

When I was younger, about five or six, one of my brother's friends molested me. It was an on going thing; a few months maybe, I don't remember it so well. Heck, for a time I forgot all about it, but I hated people touching me. Even my own parents. I had been written up for disciplinary action at my Junior school more than once for physically attacking another student because they either found it funny to grab my head or my shoulders or my legs for extended periods of time, occasionally even grope my bum – which was of course my attacker's favoured location as well. I bit through a boy's wrist once because he wouldn't leave me alone.

I completely forgot about what my brother's friend did to me as a child, but it still affected me and the worst part was that when I asked my parents why I reacted like that – they lied. They knew what had happened to me, they were the ones that my brother went to when he found out.

I was 14 when I remembered. I started getting nightmares about it. I still don't remember the boy's face, I do remember that his hands were always cold though, and I remember hiding under the dining room table when my dad shouted and threw him out. Since he was under 16 there was nothing that could be legally done about it, so they called his parents and let them decide the punishment. I never saw him again.

I still hated being touched when I was a teenager, but now that I knew why, I did exactly the same thing that Harry's doing to get over it. I started hugging my friends, I curled up with my mum and I made sure to get used to human contact again. I was well and truly over the whole molestation thing, it was just the whole not liking touch thing that took a while.

I still have moments even now where I just cannot stand being hugged or squished, other times I'm a cuddle-monster, it's sporadic and uncertain. I've never really had a proper relationship with either a guy or a girl either, my current boyfriend, even though he doesn't know, is very understanding it but he's one of the few that is. Even my own Grandmother gets bent out of shape about it, I do believe she's likened me to a porcupine on more than one occasion, '_Prickly_', '_bristly_', '_spiky_', '_defensive_'. And those are the nicer things she's said.

So, before anyone starts at me for Harry's decision to get over it and how it's pure bullcrap and unlikely to work – suck it, because it worked for me. I may not have been raped, I was never as bad as I portrayed Harry, but I still had the same problem and this was how I dealt with it.

-

**Sorry for springing that on you guys but I wanted you to understand where I'm coming from in regards to Harry's problem and his recovery. Anyway, Ignition has been posted up for your enjoyment! Please take a look, it's a One Piece/Harry Potter, the main pairing of which is Zoro/Harry.**

Araceil


	26. Chapter 26

**First of all:** I'd like to thank all the brave and wonderful people who stepped up and sent me e-mails, reviews, PMs sharing your own experiences with sexual abuse. It's both comforting and heartrending to know that there are people out there who have shared the same experience as me. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support and kind words. And good luck and stay strong for those of you still struggling to get through this. You can do it, it isn't the end of the world, don't give up. There are a thousand and one things I wish I could say to everyone but I just have no idea how to say them, how to put them into words or even order them in my head so I think I will just leave it here.

-

**Black Birds**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

-

Having never been to a Ski resort, Harry wasn't quite sure what to expect, the rows of polite, wellspoken men and women in their immaculate matching outfits certainly wasn't it.

Though he really shouldn't have been surprised.

Sighing softly he shivered slightly; even with the Warming Charms he was still rather cold. Oh well. A quick check of the staff revealed no tampering and the Hotel was clean along with all the other students and their gear. He noticed one of the boys had a charmed necklace but it was strictly protective in nature, someone in his family must have been magical or he'd just gotten his hands on it through sheer paranoia.

"Do you know how to Ski, Shi-Harii-san?" Kyouya asked, stumbling slightly on his name before correcting himself.

He shook his head, "No. Scotland got a lot of snow, but there was never enough time to learn how to Ski," he explained, watching as Mitsukuni and Takashi performed tricks for the other's amusement and shook his head, "It looks like it could be fun but I have other things to do," he turned away and made his way a little bit towards the café, "I need to run a perimeter check, tell Ginny to use the Cards if something comes up."

"Cards?" Kyouya echoed in confusion.

It was a recent development, the Pactio agreement, from before Hermione's leaving. But they'd all agreed that it would be a necessary one if they were to perform their jobs correctly, the Pactio agreements were old, _very_ old magic, magic of the kind that Lily had studied intensely looking for an edge against Voldemort. Magic that the Death Eaters found beyond them simply for the fact that they didn't understand it and they weren't willing to put the work in to figure it out.

Pactio, the agreement between a Mage and a Fighter, one to be the shield, the other a sword, the magic involving the two was both complicated and yet surprisingly simple. The word '_Pactio_' came from the Latin action of making a '_Pactum_' or '_Agreement_' between the Magister/Magistra Magi and the Minister/Ministra Magi to form a partnership in battle. Because Ancient Magic required long invocations and a lot of magical focus, they took time to incant and in that time anyone could come along and kill said Mage because they were unable to act without breaking the incantation, cancelling the spell. Hence the Pactio agreement in that while the Magister incants, the Minister would protect him. In layman's terms, the situation could be comparative to a Minister being the forward infantry while the Magister acts as back up artillery.

But the Minister would not be left to fight alone. The Pactio agreement, the Provisional Contract, also allowed for a transfer of power, magic boosting the Minister's physical and magical capabilities and providing protection from overt Physical and Magical harm. Often improving the Minister's natural abilities tenfold in the process while sometimes providing them with a Magically formed artefact that compliments their abilities and personality.

The Pactio could be created in a variety of ways, some were impossible until a certain point or age mainly to prevent abuse of the Contract. A Permanent Contract between a Minister/Ministra Magi and a Magister/Magistra Magi was the most powerful, most Magister/Ministra Magis do not have enough Magical power to form more than one of these contracts due to the Magical strain it causes, more _can_ be made, but only when a powerful Mage is holding the cards. Temporary contracts are often formed by teenagers, they do not require so much Magical input and they provide the same powers as the Permanent Contract just with less strain. Botched Contracts are useless, they are more often considered a joke contract, they allow for an almost minuscule boost in power, absolutely no extra abilities and to obtain that small boost caused a huge drain on the Magister/Ministra Magi's magic.

Harry had at first been vehemently against the whole idea. He refused to sit on his backside at the back and allow someone else to go out and fight while he was busy muttering under his breath, ain't no way, ain't no _how_.

Neville was the one who talked him into it.

Eventually, once the arguments died down, Luna drew out the contract array and activated it, '_There are two ways to do this, a blood exchange or a saliva exchange. Which is it?_' she asked, acting as Contract Evoker as Harry and Neville stepped into the circle. Everyone had pretty much opted for the exchange of saliva with the exception of Ron and Ginny who would be exchanging blood. A simple kiss on the mouth ensured a Temporary Contract, one that could be dissolved at the end of the Death Eater Case.

Each of them held Contracts from each together, a large tangled web of contracts where each of them held cards for one another. Cards that had very special abilities that even they had not been expecting. Such as Telepathy that by-passed all Occlumency Shielding, a quick Portkey evocation that could summon the intended Minister/Ministra Magi from a distance of roughly 10km and god only knew how many surprises.

Harry rolled his shoulders and looked around, making sure that no one was watching before he flung himself forward, calling up his Magic as he felt his body tighten, the air become colder but more tolerable.

Arms stretched out and pumped hard, air forcing up under them and lifting his body.

Again and again until he was looking down at the people below with sharp eyes, a mere black blott in the air.

-

"_What did he mean by that?_" the bespectacled Host asked, intensely curious about magic, not that Ginny could blame him. He'd been asking her questions ever since he found out about their world and even though she knew he was doing it mainly to widen his client base and rake in more cash, she also knew it was out of genuine curiosity.

"_The Cards are proof of our _Pactio_ agreement,_" she explained leaning back in her chair and looking skywards, spotting the dark shape in the air with a smile. "_There he is,_" she said, pointing to the tiny shape in the sky.

Kyouya frowned, "_That's a bird_."

Ginny laughed, "_Some witches and wizards have studied to learn how to Shape Shift, everyone in our group can turn into an animal, some of us even have two like Harry and myself. Luna too,_" she explained sipping at her tea, "_Harry can turn into a Peregrine Falcon and a large white Wolf. Luna can turn into an albino Squirrel and a red bellied Piranha, Hermione can turn into a Lioness, ironically enough Neville's the one with the Lion form and my brother Ron can turn into a horse, a dun coloured Mustang_."

"_And you?_" he asked, curious.

Ginny grinned smugly, "_Panther, a black Panther and a Scorpion oddly enough_," she explained before poking her tongue out, "_I would have preferred something cuter but Scorpions are cool too_."

Kyouya hummed excitedly as he nibbled on a biscuit, "_Is there anyone else who can do this or is it a common ability?_" he asked, a slight frown creasing his face, being able to turn into an animal could actually be rather dangerous now that he thought about it. You could get into places undetected and, like with Ginny, you could kill someone with no-one the wiser.

She shrugged, "_Not really. One of our Professors at school could, her form was a tabby cat, and there was this horrid reporter who could turn into a beetle. Harry's dad could, so could his friends. They learned how so that their Werewolf friend wouldn't be alone on the Full Moon anymore_."

"_Werewolf?_" Kyouya choked.

The red head laughed, "_Yep, Lupin Remus, one of the kindest men I've ever met. You've met his son, Teddy. He was bitten at a young age and had to hide his Lycanthropy for years, when Harry's dad found out he and the other boys in their dormitory decided to learn how to become animals so that they could spend Full Moons together. They called themselves the Marauders so we decided to continue the tradition and become Animagi ourselves._"

"_So werewolves are real..._" the Japanese teenager trailed off in fascination, stroking his chin.

"_So are Vampires, Trolls, Goblins, Centaur, Mermaids, Dragons, Unicorns, Lepricorns, Phoenix, Kappas..._" she laughed at the dumbstruck look on his face, "_One of my older brother's, Charlie, he works in Dragon Conservation in Romania while Bill is a Tomb Raider for the Goblins._"

"_I-I-impossible, someone would have –_ " Kyouya began only for Ginny to wave a hand and cut him off.

"_Memory Charms. People such as yourself get your memories erased when you stumble across something you shouldn't have, like Dragon nests or Tombs belonging to wizards or even Death Eater raids_," she rolled a shoulder, unaffected by the alarmed expression on his face, "_Harry was all for erasing everyone's memories and leaving again when he caught the first whiff of Death Eater activity in Japan. Hermione physically pinned him down and talked him out of it. He's surprisingly protective of you guys,_" she admitted sipping her tea.

"_Did you agree?_" he asked almost worried about the answer and mentally filing the fact that Shikamaru-san was actually fond of them.

She nodded, "_At first yeah. If we removed your memories of our existence, it would be like you'd never even met us. You'd be safe from the Death Eaters because there would be no ties to us. Then Hermione had to point out that being the Crème-de-le-Crème of Japan meant that we'd already been snapped in pictures with you and blasted across tabloids that they knew. And they'd hunt you down and hurt you regardless of Memory Charms because it would have upset us_."

The falcon screeched proudly overhead and Ginny pulled a card from her pocket, placing it against her forehead. "_What's the problem?_"

There was a pause before she frowned, "_Where's Luna? ... Neville? ... He'll keep them- ... alright_," she pulled the card away and shoved it back into her pocket, "_There's a storm brewing, Hikaru just dragged everyone to the Mountain top, Haruhi, Kaoru and Luna are heading back down but the Chairman's gone and disappeared. Hikaru and Neville are looking for him now but the storm'll have gotten pretty grim. We need to mount a rescue party_."

The Cards couldn't transport more than one person and none of Neville's Artefacts would be useful in a situation like this – his Cards were all blade Weaponry and Plant based offence/defence. Luna's would be equally useless in that they were almost all focused on either her Sight of the Future or her Painting Skills. Even Ginny's would be useless as her's were Gun and explosive based. Ron's artefacts were a bit different in that they were all exactly the same and focused on his Chess skills, with three specific abilities, turning his opponent into a Chess piece, turning the battle into a Chess match or summoning and animating chess pieces. Hermione ended up with the whole encyclopaedia of magic downloaded into a book for her use, along with a specialised Wand in the shape of a broom, the artefact was her all over it suited her the best out of all the provided contracts. Harry's artefacts... they were all geared toward one thing: Killing.

"_Calm down, I'm sure Hikaru will be fine_," Kyouya assured her.

Ginny shook her head, "_Harry says we should look so that's what we're going to do_," she stated firmly getting to her feet.

There was a moment of silence from Kyouya before he asked, "_You trust him that much?_"

She nodded, "_Yes_."

-

Harsh winds buffeted his tiny form as he arced through the air, sharp eyes hunting out the forms of his bestfriend and his charges to no avail.

'/_Anything yet?_/' Neville asked.

'/_Nothing. Not even a snow trail, the storm's come on far too quickly._/' Harry replied, a frown creasing his eyes as he swooped down under a surge of snowflakes. He could see the rescue teams slowly creeping their way up the mountain, a familiar crimson cable of hair denoting Ginny's presence amongst them.

'**Telepathia – Ministra Magi Weasley Ginevra.** /_Ginny?_/'

'/_What is it?_/' she asked.

'/_Neville and Hikaru're north of you at least two miles heading towards a tree corpse. No sign of the Chairman yet._/' he reported before squawking as he got caught in a vicious surge of wind.

'/_HARRY?!_/'

'/_I'm fine! I'm fine! The wind just knocked me ass over tea-kettle. I'm alright!_/' he assured her, grunting slightly as he flapped hard in the air, wings straining with effort just to hold himself steady in the howling gale.

'/_Land Harry, if it's getting too rough for you just land! We don't need two missing persons!_/' the young Weasley girl commanded.

He shrieked irritably at the order, '_/I'm fine Ginevra. I'll land when we find the Chairman./_' he told her firmly before folding his wings and plummeting down toward the snow. Levelling out a good ten feet up and sweeping across the ground, searching for any suspicious snow drifts that might have been the Chairman.

The wind struck at him again, catching under his tail and left wing throwing him roughly off balance and careening into a thick snowdrift.

The cold hit him like a sledge hammer but out of the wind it wasn't quite so piercing, stunned and exhausted he struggled ineffectually with his body and the small pile of snow that slid down and smothered him. He changed, his magic flaring up out of self preservation and returning him to human form where the cold became physically painful and the wind sliced and burned at his skin.

'/_Harry? Are you alright? You vanished for a moment there._/' Ginny.

'/_Got caught in an updraft, hit the ground pretty hard. Give me a sec, my arms won't move. Christ._/' he returned shifting his weight as much as possible with his arms burning and shaking his chest and spine hurt as well, so did his face after that impact with the snow.

'/_You're not injured are you?_/'

'/_No. Just exhausted. Look, find the others, when I've got some feeling back in my arms I'll go Wolf and make my own way down._/' he told her burrowing into the snow as much as possible to escape the sharp winds.

'/_Harry..._/'

'/_Just do it. Poke me every now and again to make sure I don't fall asleep but I'm fine. I'm always fine._/'

He heard her sigh, '/_No, you're not. You're never fine these days._/' she pointed out before killing the connection, presumably to do as he asked her. He hoped. Flying in a Snowstorm – not one of his brightest ideas, not even a fairly dumb one, it was, by all accounts, a retarded one. Even by his standards.

His arms were aching like a _bitch_.

And he was tired.

Muscle weary AND sleepy. A bad combination in this weather and in his condition. He shoved snow down his pants to shock himself awake – and then vehemently wished he hadn't. It was fucking COLD.

'/_Harry, we've found Hikaru, Nev and the Chairman. We're heading off to find you. Can you give me a mental picture of where you are?_/' Ginny asked in his head. Actually a little grateful that they were coming to get him when he was in this kind of state, he sent the best approximation he could from when he was airborne. It wasn't a very good one, pretty much everything was white out and what little that wasn't was in such sharp detail that human eyes and minds couldn't make heads or tails of it. There was a moment of silence and then Ginny started to swear, '/_Bloody unhelpful you are, y'know?_/' she told him before sniffing in affront, '/_Do you have your wand? Light it up bright red if you can._/'

Moving painfully slowly he dug his wand out from his sleeve and held it numbly in a hand that refused to grip properly as he pointed it in the general direction of the sky. "_Rubican Lumos_," he incanted shakily, watching as the tip of his wand lit up a bright scarlet wavering slightly as he shivered in the cold. Almost blinding in colour, he closed his eyes and kept his grip on the wooden instrument as he huddled as much as he could against his snow drift to hide from the wind that bit into his skin and the made cold seep into his bones. He was so tired.

'/_We're coming to get you Harry, just hold tight._/' Ginny told him as awareness began to fade, he couldn't feel his toes... that was a bad sign wasn't it?

'/_Good. Hurry up. I'm tired._/' he mumbled, even his mental voice was getting weaker.

'/_Harry, don't fall asleep! Don't fall asleep!!_/'

-

Takashi didn't think he had ever been so frightened, even when he hesitantly believed that Hermione and Harry had been murdered though at the time he had been furious beyond all measure, no, this time he had been terrified. Scared because Hikaru had gone missing looking for his Class Representative, he knew Neville would take care of him but there was that irrational fear that something would happen and they would die, that irrational fear became irrational terror when Ginny started shouting into her Card, the one she was using to communicate with Harry. Telling him not to fall asleep before swearing to the high heavens as the connection died.

Harry was alone somewhere on the mountains, unconscious and freezing.

Whether it was luck or fate, he didn't care when he spotted the brief glimpse of dark green amidst the snow flurries, the same shade of green as Harry's jacket. He didn't even wait for the snow mobile to stop before he was leaping out of it, stumbling in the deep snow as he thundered through it to the smaller male's side. He was curled up in a small hallow, shielded from the worst of the wind and covered in a thin fall of snow, his black hair now more white than black, his face paper white and blue.

Horrified and scared he practically ripped his gloves off and reached under the smaller male's collar to grope for a pulse. It was there. Weak and slow but there.

He scooped the smaller male out of the snow drift, being careful not to lose his wand as Ginny jogged up to his side, her brown eyes wide with concern when she saw the small teenager cradled in his grasp. The wind was too quick for any kind of substantial conversation as the two climbed back into the truck, Takashi digging out a thermal blanket from the back seat and wrapping the Wizard in it holding him close.

At any other time, Ginny would have cooed at how the tall Wild Type Host was cradling her bestfriend in his lap, but the concern in his eyes and the colour of Harry's lips meant that she actually physically _couldn't_ take any amusement from it. There was no longer a Prophesy covering Harry's backside – he might die from this.

And that made her stomach sink down into her feet.

-

It was easy to see for anyone with eyes, that there was something going on between Morinozuka Takashi and Akegata Shikamaru.

Renge was determined to discover what it was.

The young fangirl watched with mixed feelings as Mori-senpai stood vigil over Akegata-senpai's bed. The smaller male was bundled up tight in thermal bedding, his neck, underarms and crotch with hot water bottles on them, his face covered and a heart monitor attached to a hidden arm, beeping quietly beside the bed. The look on Mori-senpai's face... It was Moe! But at the same time... Her heart clenched, it was real, this wasn't a game. Akegata-senpai was very, very ill.

Occasionally those foreigners would come in and check on him, Renge could detect some Moe between the red head and Akegata-senpai AND the brunet boy who she had seen lingering with Kaoru.

Brown eyes widened as the bundle on the bed groaned and shifted, Mori-senpai immediately there and peeling away the face covering.

Akegata-senpai looked horribly tired but at least he wasn't as ghastly white as before, his lips looked too pale for his face but they weren't blue anymore, hazy green eyes were locked on Mori-senpai's face. "Where..."

"Hotel Infirmary," Mori-senpai told him, Akegata opened his mouth again, "They're fine," the Senior told him, "Hikaru woke up four hours ago, Chairman has a sprained ankle, Neville is fine," he elaborated soothingly, smoothing back long dark hair from Akegata-senpai's face and Renge could have sworn her heart was about to launch itself out of her throat.

Akegata-senpai's eyes slid shut, "That's.... good," he murmured as Mori-senpai's fingers slid down his cheek unnoticed.

Renge swallowed tightly, cheeks flushing scarlet as Mori-senpai smiled at the smaller male, it was so _soft_ and _warm_ and _pure_, she could feel a tingle of excitement in her stomach. This was real. They were real!

The First Year whipped around and fled. She had a Doujinshi to write!!

-

**Have some Takashi/Harry as my apology for taking so long 8DD**

**XDD Yes, I ran out of brain cells so I decided to switch Point of View to Renge who is spying on them. And we all know what she's thinking 'MOEEEEE'.**

**Now, I have mentioned Pactio before, but for those of you who have forgotten I'll explain it again.**

**Pactio is a concept from the Mahou Sensei Negima?! Manga series – I suggest you read it, please, oh god, please read it. So much better than Harry Potter and the concepts are pretty similar just so so so much better. Negima did what Harry Potter couldn't. It created a whole world, add to that, I'm on the 25th volume AND I STILL WANT MORE DAMNIT!!**

**Anyway. Hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter.**

**Review pleasums.**

Araceil.


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